Hi 



IS 



H 



IB 



mmm 



m 



HHI 




Pbu 



bhimi 

IraHraEESnmiffll , BBbK 




LIBRARY 



CONGRESS 




■::;■;."•:■• ; ■■■■■ 



0D004530fc>lS 



HI 



SSSSffiKS HHaB ■ ■■.:■"■ 

: ■V""' : - , ; ''.Vi' , i ■■.■.'■■.'■■■■. 5 




Qass. 
Book 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 




FRONTISPIECE. 

l 



De La Baistta's 



ADVICE TO LADIES 



CONCERNING 



BEAUTY, 



Development of the Figure. 



ETIQUETTE, THE ART OF PLEASING, 
DRESS, ETC., 



ALSO HIS VALUABLE COLLECTION OP 



ORIENTAL MYSTERIES OF THE TOILET. 



•f 



By PROFESSOR DE LA BANTA. 




7. ~*7 



SAMUEL JUNKIN, PUBLISHER^ 
187 8. 



fr 



^ 



*v 



COPYRIGHT, 
BY DE LA BANT A. 

18 77. 



BINDING 




PRINTING 


OK 




OF 


A. J. COX & CO. 


^ 
V 


DONNELLEY, LOYD & OO. 













Contents. 



PAGE 

ARMS, 99,2;).-) 

To develop. To shorten or lengthen in effect. To whiten. 

ARMS AND SHOULDERS, - - - 235 

Cosmetics for. To render smooth and white. 

ART OF PLEASING, 336 

Grace. Manners. Accomplishments. Affectation. Beauty. The toilet, etc. 

BATHS, 246 

BEAUTY, ---------- 15 

What was thought of it by the ancients. Grecian art and culture. Beauty 
due to adherence to natural laws. Beauty of the Jewish women. Greek 
legends. Women of India. Pharaoh's daughter. Mythologies. Cleo 
patra. Roman women. 

BEAUTY AND CULTURE, 27 

An ignorant woman. Savages and beauty. Erroneous conception of 
beauty. Bright fancies of youth not reliable. Love engendered in the 
school-room and banished in the divorce court. A pen picture of the 
'•old story.'' Beauty and ignorance a curse. Mistaken ideas of life by 
women. Corporeal beauty summed up. Beauty at different stages. Beauty 
at an advanced age, instanced in the life of Ninon de 1'Enclos and Diana 
de Poitiers. 

BEAUTY. WHAT IS IT, 22 

What Socrates. Plato. Aristotle and others deemed it. Beauty depend- 
ent upon enlightenment. Not determined by taste or national pecu- 
liarity. Beauty vs. Genius, as represented in Mmes. Recamier and 
De Stael. The value of beauty. What composes external beauty. 

BIRTH MARKS, 182 

BREATH, - 212 

Offensive breath, its causes. Cosmetics. 

BROWN PATCHES, 175 

BUST, - - - 106 

To enlarge and harden. Construction. Developer use of. Padding, 
evils of. Treatment, etc. 

CALISTHENICS, 57 

Greek and modern systems compared. Working on wrong principles. A 
good body essential to a sound mind. Errors in the education of chil- 
dren. Physical training and prejudice. Why gymnastics are unpopular. 
Exercises in detail. Physical erectness indicative of moral rectitude. 
Stooping figures. Wrong training of girls. Exercise with a motive. 
Not undervaluing gymnastics. Leaping and running for girls. Certain 
exercise not suited to matured ladies. Swimming. What tradition ascribes 
to water and sunshine. Skating. Dancing the poetry of motion, its ad- 
mirable and objectionable features. 

3 



4 DE LA BANT A S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

PAGE 

CHEST. ------ 94 

Proper dimensions. Capacity of the chest and long life. How to expand it. 

COLORS. JEWELRY. FLOWERS. ----- 369 

Harmonizing colors with the complexion. Relation of colors to charac- 
teristics. Colors and their contrasts. Associating them. Harmonizing 
colors in dress. Suitability of various colors. Jewelry and flowers. 

COMPLEXION. - 145 

Best means of preserving it. Ailments affecting. Quackery. 

CONDENSED HYGIENIC RULES. - - - 137 

COSMETIC- . - . 147 

DEVELOPMENT, - - 52 

Waste and supply of nerve and muscular force. Training. Developing 
all parts of the body equally. Excessive training. Philosophy of 
exercise. Amount of blood in an adult. Pate of pulse in relation to 
speed, etc. Effects of walking. Perspiration, daily discharge from an 
average sized individual. What it contains. Ventilation. Pure air 
and health. Closed houses and zymotic diseases. Composition of the 
air. What is breathed by the average individual every twenty-four 
hours. Exercise should be systematic, moderate, and governed by a 
happy motive. 

DIRECT METHODS. 68 

Natural law. Following an ignis-fatuus. The pot of gold at the end 
of the rainbow and how to obtain it. Walking the best exercise. Sup- 
positive treatment of an imaginary lady. Put yourself in her place. 

DISCOLORATIONS. -------- 174 

DRESS. ----------- 355 

Irs influence. Fashion. The proper functions of dress. The fitness of 
dress. Stripes, colors, flounces, trimmings, and their effects. The 
shawl. Bonnets and hats to suit the face. Fitting garments. Feathers 
and furs. Appropriateness of dress. Importance of dress. Rules which 
should govern. Trains. How a dress should fit. Present styles. Veils, 
gloves, etc. Suitability of wraps and stuffs to certain figures and sea- 
sons. Minor details of major importance. Crinoline, garters, boots. 
House dress. High or decollette. Perfumes. 

EARS. - ---------- 189 

Care. Deafness. Treatment by Italian and Spanish ladies. To make 
smooth and free from hair. Wearing pendants. 

ETIQUETTE, ---------- 291 

Introductory. Visits. Parties. Soirees and balls. Table etiquette. 
Breakfast and luncheon. Luncheon. Dinner parties. Deportmen« in 
the drawing room. Etiquette on the street. Etiquette at church and 
places of amusement. Marriage ceremonies. Funeral ceremony, etc. 

EXPRESSION. . 84 

Cultivating it. Evil habits. Rating intelligence by the expression. 
Value of expression to beauty. Law of assimilation. Love. 

EYEBROWS. - - 194 

Dry and crusty brows. To prevent moisture. To increase the hair. 
To color. When the brows meer. 

EYE-. --------- 191 

Sore eyes. To brighten the eyes. To make appear full and brilliant. 



CONTENTS. 5 

l'AGU 

PACE, - - 75) 

Types 'In different nationalities. Greek models. The facial angle. The 
profile. What constitutes beauty of face. Expression. Passive fare. 

FAMOUS WOMEN'S HANDS, 104 

FEET, - ... in 

Determining ancestorial blood by the feet. The instep. Spanish ladies. 
A Castijian proverb. Proportion. Malformations. Fashion's torture. 
Hoots and shoes, the proper sizes to be worn. Martha Washington. The 
feet in warm weather. Walking, perspiration, etc. Treatment. Callosity. 
Corns, bunions, chilblains, and their treatment. 

FIGURE, 46 

Studying the figure as a whole. Laws of proportion. Indications 
of the figure, temperament, etc. Man's estimate of woman's figure. 
Beauty of form easily secured. Value of a handsome face, its associa- 
tions with other features. One side more symmetrical than the other; 
causes; remedy. Sleeping upon the right side aids the action of the 
heart and digestion. Parents responsible for deformities of their off- 
spring. Round shoulders. Curvature of the spine; causes and remedies. 
Diseases peculiar to women; few escape them; causes and remedies. 

FOREHEAD, 188 

Low forehead a mark of beauty; a high one majesty. Susceptibility to 
redness and wrinkles. 

FRECKLES, -------- 171 

GUMS, 207 

HAIR, ----- 77, 215 

Arrangement. Greek coiffure. Baldness. Care. Oils, pomades, dress- 
ings, etc. Restoratives. Dyes. Bandolines— preparations to curl. Pow- 
ders. How to bleach hair. Depilatories. Crimps, frizzettes, etc. 

HANDS, 102, 237 

To whiten. Cosmetic gloves. To soften. To prevent sweating. To pre- 
vent redness. Nails. Powder for brittle nails, cracks, chaps and swell- 
ing veins. Chilblains. Warts. 

HARMONIZING COLORS IN DRESS. - - - - 375 
HEAD, 75 

Size and classical contour. Artificial shaping. Arrangement of hair to 
improve it and counteract defects of face. 

HIPS AND ABDOMEN, ------ 115 

Their development in ladies. To strengthen the back and hips. 

HOME, -.287 

Home, its relation to society. Mothers and children becoming rare. The 
model husband compared with the modern bachelor. Influence of 
women. Home the true woman's throne. What makes a home. Why 
men don't marry. 

INTRODUCTORY, - 11 

IRRITATIONS, ....... 180 

LEGS, 116 

When the legs may be considered handsome. Their peculiarity in wo- 
men. To develop them. Weak ankles. 



6 DE LA BAHTA's ADVICE TO LADIE^. 

PAGE 

LASHES. 193 

Treatment. To color, etc. 

LEAXXESS. TO PRETEXT IT AXD INCREASE FLESH. 132 

Tall women more graceful, but plumpness more. desirable. Causes pre- 
disposing to leanness. Hereditary leanness. Sudden decrease of flesh 
ominous. Treatment to increase flesh. Asiatic method of fitting girls for 
the market. Flogging to increase flesh. What Dio Lewis says. 

LIPS. - 203 

Chaps, eruptions, soreness and swellings. Pale lips. Fever blister?. 
Treatment for. 

MAKE-UP. ---------- 280 

Artistic use of art devices. 

MISCELLAXEOUS RECIPES, ---... 262 

MOLES. ----- 1S4 

MOTH SPOTS, ----..._. no 

MOUTH, ----------- 202 

NAILS, - - - 240 

Brittle nails, treatment of. 

NECK, - - 

What constitutes a beautiful neck. Its significance to the physiognomist 

and physician. The neck denoting blood. Evening dress and faults of 
the neck. Queen Elizabeth and her ruffs. Shortening the neck in effect. 
Helen of Troy, and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Arranging the hair to 
conceal defects of the neck. The neck and the fuilet. 

XOSE. --------- 198 

Blackheads. Redness. Bleeding. 

OBESE AXD SPARE FIGURES, - - - 124 

Brillat Savarin quoted. Letter from the New York correspondent of the 
Chicago Times, at Long Branch, criticising bathers. 

OBESITY, TO REDUCE AXD PREVENT IT, - - 127 

Women more subject to obesity than men. What conduces to it. Its 
prevaleace in the Orient. Effect of diet. To reduce it. Drugs and their 
use. Obesity and longevity. Care to be observed in reducing it. Weight 
to accompany different statures. Banting's treatment. Another treat- 
ment. Analysis of the principal articles of food. 

PHYSICAL DISABILITIES. 36 

The influence of habits and surroundings. Overworking young girls. 
Lady clerks. Women of barbarous tribes. Women performing menial 
out-door labor in civilized countries. Transmitting physical ills to future 
generations. Indifference to injurious causes. Absence of blooming 
girls. "Sweet sixteen" a delusion. Maturing prematurely ; the cause a 
slavish subserviency to both the necessities and luxuries of life. Assum- 
ing a certain position at labor constantly destructive of symmetry. From 
Madame Eve to the " Song of the Shirt."' Sewing women and their vicis- 
situde*. A remedy. Responsibilities of employers. Indolence and ennui 
not conducive to health and beautv. The force of habit. Responsibili- 
ties of women to the race. Population of New England, a paper by Dr. 
Allen. 

PREFACE, ..-------- 



CONTENTS. 7 

PAGE 

PERFUMES AND ODORS, 356 

Colognes, essences, extracts, waters. How to extract perfume from 
flowt-rs. 

PERSPIRATION, - ....... 254 

Minerva's bath. Aromat ic powders and lotion. Effect of diet. 

PIMPLES AND ERUPTIONS, ------ 177 

Hives, prickly heat, itching, burning sensations, irritations. Remedies for. 

POWDERS, 168 

REDNESS OF THE SKIN, 170 

ROUGES, ... 169 

SALLOWNESS, - - 174 

SCARS, ... 187 

SHOULDERS, - - - 90, 2:35 

To straighten. Shoulder braces. 

SKIN, 141 

SKIN AND COMPLEXION, ------ 150 

Tar masks, charcoal, figs, tomatoes, etc. Baths, lotions, etc., for delicate 
skin. For greasy skin inclined to pimples. For thick, spongy, pimpled 
skin. For stippled skin. To refine the skin. For shiny skin. For pallid 
skin. To darken pale skin. For rough skin. To renew the complexion. 
Other recipes. To whiten the skin. Sallow or muddy skin. For rough, 
dry skin. Paste masks. Rose pomade for greasy complexion, and other 
formulas. Cutaneous eruptions. Cold creams, pomades, ices, lotions, 
balms, lavender water, and vinegars for the skin. Cosmetic, cologne 
water tonic, powders, enameling the face, etc. 

SPOTS, MOTH, LIVER, ETC., - 176 

SUITABILITY OF VARIOUS COLORS, 376 

SUNBURN, - - 173 

TA X, - - -------- 173, 174 

TATTOOING, - --------- 183 

TEETH, - - --------- 207 

Powders, waters, opiate. For blackness and tartar. Elixir. For toothache. 

TOILET SOAPS, 252 

How to manufacture them. Injuries from coloring and perfumes. 

VOICE, ----------- 283 

WAIST, ----------- 113 

WALK, ----- 119 

Anne Boleyn. The Greeks. High heeled shoes. What injures the walk. 
First requisite to a fine walk. The fault with Northern ladies. Creoles 
and their magnificent carriage. Cultivation. Walking as an accomplish- 
ment. Valuable exercise. How to walk. Exercise to improve. A glid- 
ing, wiggling, waddling gait. Remarks of Dr. Alexander Walker. 

WARTS, ----------- 242 

WRINKLES, ---------- 184 



Illustrations. 



Frontispiece, -----...__ i 

Grecian Woman, -----.... \q 

Madame Recamier, ---..'.._. 24 

Madame De Stael, ...... 32 

Sewing Women, ----..._. 40 

Venus and the Apple (Figure), -•-... 48 

Skating, - --'-..... 55 

Rowing, .---.-_____ 34 

Raphael's Frist Hour of Night (Model Head), - - 72 

Miss R (Cheerful Expression), - 80 

Modern Lovers, ------ ... 88 

Southern Belle (Chest and Arm), - 96 

CrRCASSiAN Lady, - ■ - 104 

Eugenie (American Beauty), ...... 112 

Cornelia and her Jewels (Roman Youth), - - - 120 

Oriental Lady (Voluptuous Type), - 128 

Household at Pompeii, -.-.... 136 

Stella, Modern Roman Lady, ...... 144. 

Home Scene at Pompeii, ---.... 152 

Pharaoh's Daughter (Profile), - - - - - - 160 

On the Beach, - -.-.... 168 

Ancient Hebrew Type, ...... 176 

Ophelia (Melancholy Expression), - - - 184 

Persian Belle, --.-..... 192 

Romeo and Juliet, -.-..... 200 

Miss G (Arm), 208 

English Blonde (Flowing Hair), - - - - - 216 

Lady Caroline Lamb, 224 

Swedish Lady, ......... 232 

German Type (Fore-arm, Hand and Wrist), - - 240 

Turkish Lady, - ...... 248 

Josephine, - 256 

Rustic Beauty, - 264 

Ouida (Long Neck), - - 272 

Miss De M (French Type, Neck and Shoulders), - 280 

Modern Home, ......... 288 

The Salon (Modern Dress), ...... 296 

Not Forgotten (High Bodice), ------ 304 

Madame Roland, 312 

Musing, - ---------- 320 

Spanish Lady, - - 328 

Lady Morgan, - - - - - - - - - - 336 

Medieval Lovers (Costume of the Middle Ages), - 344 

Ninon de l'Enclos, 352 

At Home (Dress Decollete), ------ 360 

Queen Elizabeth (Ruff), ... - . 368 

Continental Lovers, - - - - - 376 



Preface. 



BEAUTY is made, not horn. The love of it is instinctive in human W 
nature — its influence is potent even in the practical affairs of life. 
It is the mantle of poesy, into which we are ever weaving bright - 
lined threads, to gleam in the sober garb of the work-day world. Its 
cultivation falls more especially within the province of woman, ena- 
bling her, by chaste adornment, to place herself among the loveliest 
works of God, only "a little lower than the angels." Recognizing 
this commendable desire, it is the design of this book to direct and 
instruct ladies in the use of those arts and preparations which 
will best serve to make them beautiful. 

To this end it considers all the requirements of material and 
physical graces — all that is needed in bodily development and 
make-up, not forgetting the accomplishments and mental culture 
which light up and display a beautiful figure as the lamp within 
displays and illuminates the sculptured vase. Beauty is not con- 
jured b}' the aid of necromancy; nor at the waving of some fairy 
wand: it comes only through observance of hygienic laws, proper 
use of artistic methods, scrupulous cleanliness, and ceaseless atten- 
tion. If there be those who ascribe to mere vanity the almost 
universal desire in woman to make herself beautiful, let them 
compare the cultured and tastefully - dressed lady with the dowdy 
and ignorant woman, and ask themselves which seems most nearly 
to be the ideal. But there are really few insensible to the effect 
of beauty. The silent power lurking in a tress, a winning smile, 
a charming face, a perfect figure, a cultured taste and an accom- 
plished manner, is felt in the home, in society, in the world. 

The illustrations in this work will be found of great interest in 
comparing differing developments of female beauty, while thej r 
possess merits as works of art. 

I desire here to acknowledge my indebtedness to many prominent 

writers for suggestions and information. 

The Author. 
Chicago, 1878. 



Introductory 



The first and most obvious effect of the workings of nat- 
ural law is the adaptation of plants and animals to the 
circumstances surrounding them. The camel — the ship of 
the desert — is fitted to endure long and toilsome inarches, 
under a burning; sun, through treeless and sandy wastes, 
while the polar bear thrives amid the rigors of an arctic 
Winter. The lordly lion is endowed with strength and 
courage to seize his prey; the timid antelope with fleetness 
to outrun its savage foes. The graceful palm strikes its 
roots deep into the thirsty tropic soil seeking for scanty 
moisture, while of the mountain pine the Wizard of the 
North has said — 

Moored to the rifted rock, 
Proof to the tempest's shock, 
Firmer he roots him the ruder it blows. 

The stalwart oak rears his giant form where the tempests 
have full sweep, and defies their power : the pale and 
tender lily seeks a sheltered valley by some murmuring 
stream where the rude winds may not roughly assail her. 
And so it is throughout nature: all created things are fitted 
to live and flourish amid the surroundings and circum- 
stances in Avhich their lot has been cast. Nature has been 
a bountiful mother to all her children. 

11 



12 DE LA RAJSTA'S ADVICE TO EADIE-. 

But, having first endowed them with the means of living, 
she has not forgotten to adorn and embellish them. All 
nature is clothed with beauty. "The warbling woodland, 
the resounding shore, the pomp of groves, the o-arni- 
ture of fields." all minister to the esthetic sense in man; 
and, we can not doubt, to that of the lower animals. The 
modest wild flower springing in some woodland gladp, or 
the waving sweep of champaign and forest; the tiny rivu- 
let sparkling in the sunlight, or Xiagara roaring its 
tremendous diapason to the everlasting hills: the grassy 
sweep of flower -crowned knoll, or the rugged crest of 
Himalaya — 

TVhich lifts its storm - scarred brow to God, 
And worships in the sky alone — 

— all are clothed upon with beauty — beautv tender and 
sweet as the song of birds amid the leafy trees: beautv 
awful and sublime as ocean lashed to fury by the hurricane. 
And if the bounteous Giver of all good has adorned 
flower and bird, tree and mountain, streamlet and ocean 
with beauty, much more has he reserved loveliness and 
grace for his "last, best gift to man*' — woman. The 
beauty of woman has been the inspiring theme of poet's 
sons' and minstrel's strain in all acres of the world. "Be- 
hold thou art fair, my love; behold thou art fair; thou hast 
dove's eyes within thy locks." wrote the wisest man; and 
from Solomon's day to ours they have been held to be not 
wise who have been or have feigned to be insensible to the 
loveliness of woman. Our purest and best thoughts are 
associated with and inspired by mothers, sisters, wives and 
sweethearts. All that makes home sacred is due to woman. 



INTRODUCTORY. 13 

She lightens our load of care, attends us in sickness, 
sweetens all our joys: for her we labor and plan; and our 
highest and best ambitions are for her. When God placed 
man in Eden his crowning blessing was "an help meet for 
him." Through all the ages man has found her such, and 
will while the earth lasts. And she was made the most 
beautiful of all created things — the crowning glory of the 
universe. "There is one glory of the sun, and another 
'glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; and star 
diifereth from star in glory." So also there is one beauty 
of the flower, another of the mountain, and another of the 
sea; but there is no beauty like that of a glorious woman — 

Heart on her lips and soul within her eyes, 
Soft as her clime and sunny as her skies. 

• A great deal of nonsense, and some sense, has been 
written about the folly and sin of mere outward show. 
Because some women have wasted their time and means in 
foolishly bedecking themselves, whole tribes of men have 
wasted more time and money in diatribes against adorn- 
ment of the person. No doubt folly and extravagance find 
full scope in this direction as in many others, but it is no 
more just to say that all attempts to beautify the person 
are wrong because some women are extravagant and vain 
than it is to say that all eating and drinking are wrong 
because some men are gluttons and drunkards. 

Still, it is true enough «that many endeavors to make the 
person attractive are misdirected. The eiFort is rather to 
cover the outside of this temple of God with trinkets and 
gew - gaws than to make its walls beautiful with strength 
and all its proportions true and fair, fit shrine for divine 
intelligence — fit habitation for a human soul. 
2 



14 DE LA BAXTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

In favor of such folly there is nothing to be said, except 
that it is the outcome of the desire which nature has given 
all women to make themselves beautiful. But, because 
some mistake the proper use of personal adornment, are all 
women to be slovenly? By no means. In the present 
work proper and tasteful adornment only will be com- 
mended, and it will be insisted upon first of all that there 
can be no true beauty without strict observance of natural 
laws. The object of this work is to give information which 
may aid in cultivating a sound, healthy body, correcting 
evil habits which mar its perfect loveliness, and so aid 
nature, or, rather, give nature fair play, as to secure the 
best results without profaning the temple with meretricious 
ornament or injuring it with hurtful nostrums. Its object 
is to point out that the highest and noblest beauty is 
dependent upon good health and a strict observance of 
nature's requirements — exercise, temperance, cheerfulness, 
and the mean between wearing labor on the one hand and 
enervating indolence on the other. 



Beauty 



WHAT WAS THOUGHT OF IT BY THE ANCIENTS. 



Plato, the profound philosopher, explored the heathen 
world in search of God and found him nowhere so manifest 
as in beauty; and with that word upon his lips he died. 

From the days when the Queen of Sheba went with her 
retinue to visit Solomon until the present time the power 
of beauty has controlled courts and nations, the fate of 
dynasties and the lives of men. How to be beautiful, and 
consequently powerful, is a question of far greater import- 
ance to woman everywhere, than abstract speculations con- 
cerning the builders of the pyramids and the mystery of 
the sphinx. When Eve saw herself in nature's mirror — 
one of the garden streams of Eden — she was lost in admira- 
tion of the beauty mirrored there — the round and supple 
limbs, the shapely waist, the lovely neck and arms, the 
sweet fair face shrined in its flowing hair; and she recog- 
nized through her own heaven - born instinct the marvelous 
power of beauty. 

But the ancients viewed beauty only in its outward forms, 
accepting what it conveyed to the senses. They did not 
look beneath the surface; and therefore did not encourage 
the cultivation of woman's mind to enhance her spirituelle 

15 



16 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

loveliness. The Greek and Roman matron was expected 
to govern her household well; she was not expected to 
dabble in literature or cultivate art; and it has been said 
that the highest grace and beauty of those days were to be 
found where virtue had not lent its softer and purer charm. 
It is for this and subsequent ages to begin where Greece 
ended, and with our culture and education build the physi- 
cal foundation well, informing it with the added charm of 
intellectual grace and cultured, refined beauty. 

I refer to Greece, because we are accustomed to look to 
her as having attained to the highest physical excellence, 
basing our judgment upon her history and the ideals of her 
art carved in stone which have descended to us. It is not 
presumed that the standards of beauty which we find repre- 
sented in her statuary were characteristic of her people, for 
Grecian art was of a hio-h order and marked an era in the 
annals of history never equaled. Thus it is probable that 
the Dianas and Hebes were but the conceptions of genius, 
standards of perfection toward which she was urging her 
people, rather than representatives of actual men and 
women — prophecies of that which her enthusiasts hoped 
might be. and believed could and should be, rather than 
records of what had as yet been attained to. AVhat per- 
fection was reached in individual cases it would be pre- 
sumptuous to say; nor would I affirm that the Apollos of art 
and the Venus, whose figure is represented on a following 
page, were not to some extent modeled from living men 
and women; but that in their details and development 
they were the crystallizations of ideas rather than faithful 
copies of flesh and blood, is indicated by physical develop- 
ment quite impossible in a physiological point of view. 




GRECIAN WOMAN. 

16 



BEAUTY AMONG THE ANCIENTS. • 17 

Greece, however, was the heir of ages of culture; and, 
however much her historians may have depreciated the 
" barbarians," there is no doubt that they owed very much 
in literature and in art to those very barbarians. Greek art 
was more bound by tradition and circumscribed by fixed 
rules than even modern art; and it is almost certain that 
the immortal works of Phidias and Praxiteles were rather 
the ripened fruit of ages of esthetic culture than mere pho- 
tographs of every -day life from the streets of Athens. 
Nor do I wish to say that this was purely ideal. It repre- 
sented the highest possibilities of perfect manhood and 
womanhood: it set up a standard to which Greeks might 
attain, and to attain which it was the duty of Greeks to 
strive. 

The same possibilities exist to-day, with better oppor- 
tunities. No finer men physically and no more lovely 
women struggled at Platea, sought the winding slopes of 
smooth Meander, or wandered amid the classic groves of 
Academus than are to be found to-day by the Elbe, the 
Thames, or the Mississippi. As the Greeks were the heirs 
of the ages which preceded them, we are the heirs of those 
ages and of the Greeks as well. The same law of the sur- 
vival of the fittest is still in operation; and there can be no 
question that all the conditions to fine physical develop- 
ment and the highest standards of female beauty exist 
to - day that existed in the days of Pericles. 

But, now as then, the noblest beauty must be preserved 
by attention to natural laws and cultivated by art; now as 
then, the noblest beauty, if neglected or abused, will fail of 
its highest effect and lose its charm; and, now as then, 
even the plain and commonplace may, with exercise, good 



18 DE LA BANTl's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

health, and a judicious use of artistic helps and other aids, 
be made almost beautiful. It is a highly laudable ambition 
in woman to wish to be attractive. If beauty was displeas- 
ing to the Deity he would doubtless have withheld the gift, 
and have made the rose black and scentless, and woman 
ugly; but as he made woman fair and with a universal 
instinct to adorn herself,it is but reasonable to suppose that 
he meant her, within reasonable bounds, to exercise the 
longing of her heart. 

The women of antiquity whose names have descended to 
us, have been celebrated rather because of some striking 
event connected with their history than because of their 
beauty, though, as humanity is substantially the same in 
all ages, it can not be doubted that the heroines of those 
days were women of great personal attractions. Jacob 
served seven years for Rachel; and there are many legends 
in existence concerning the beauty of Laban's daughter. 
Indeed the Jewish maidens were celebrated throughout the 
East for their charms. The Egyptian monuments preserve 
the portraits of several of the queens of that country with 
decidedlv Hebrew features, and that at a time when Pales- 
tine was not tributary to Memphis or Thebes, so that the 
Pharaohs must have gone wooing to Salem and not have 
raised some captive damsel to the throne. 

Delilah, the dark - eyed Palestinian sorceress, must have 
been of wondrous beauty to so bewitch the mighty but 
weak Samson. King David, the man after God's own 
heart, was led into his one great crime by seeing Bathsheba 
in her bath, for "she was very beautiful to look upon." 
There is a wondrous tenderness, and an awful sorrow in 
the picture of the Jewish maidens wandering yearly among 



BEAUTY AMONG THE ANCIENTS. 19 

the mountains lamenting the fate of Jephtha's daughter. 
And Solomon, the wisest of men, found time amid the cares 
of empire and the pursuit of wisdom to celebrate the love- 
liness of women; while the beauty of the captive Esther so 
wrought upon the Persian king as to enable her to save her 
whole nation from predetermined destruction. 

Greek legends tell of maids who bore away the palm of 
beauty from the very goddesses of Olympus. And yet the 
stories tell of neglect and wrong — of sad Enone wander- 
ing lone and uttering • complaints to " many - fountained 
Ida" for cruel Paris, strayed away to Hellas and enraptured 
with the false gleam of guilty Helen's smile; of burning 
Sappho leaping from the Leucadian rock and ending at 
once her life and her hopeless love; of Hero mourning by 
the dark Hellespont over her lost Leander. But many of 
the Eastern tales tell of women of another type — of the 
warrior Queen Semiramis, of Zenobia, of Judith and Jael, 
and other Amazonian women who have ruled empires and 
led armies, rather than of languishing beauties. The Per- 
sian poets have been eloquent in praise of their country- 
women ; but the general impression is that their taste was 
faulty; that lymph and laziness were prized there more 
than either elegance of form, purity of complexion or elo- 
quence of expression. The women of India have been 
more famed, and their descendants are yet noted for fine 
figures and a most pleasing cast of countenance. They 
fade early, but during their youth they are perfect in form, 
graceful in action and of a most winning style of beauty. 
Their erectness of figure and fine carriage are largely due 
to a custom of carrying water-jars and other burdens upon 
their heads. 



20 DE LA BANTA's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

Sixteen hundred years B. C. the daughter of Pharaoh 
rescued the infant Moses from the Nile, whither with her 
maids she had gone to bathe. It is said she was beautiful. 
Certainly her profile, shown on page 160, whether the bust 
from which it is taken be authentic or fictitious, is of the 
most exact Egyptian type and, in correct angles, proportions 
and traits contributing to perfect beauty, is faultless. 

The mythologies, charming but uncertain, come to us 
laden with fabled beauty physical and artistic, and tell first 
of adherence to laws and principles that should improve 
the physique. They however do not alone mention the 
use of cosmetics to lend additional beauty to the person. 
Queen Esther, to whom we have just referred, was given 
myrrh and sweet odors for purification, though her beauty 
was such that she could show to better advantage without 
them, and they were ignored by her. The Hebrew scrip- 
tures note many instances where perfumes and oils were 
used about the person, but the mythologies detail a higher 
development of the art of enhancing beauty artificially. 
There was Circe, daughter of the Sun, so expert in the 
arts of beautifying that she was deemed an enchantress, 
and Medea, also skilled in modifying the exterior and pre- 
serving the charms of person. The heroes, too, were 
models of beauty. How grandly does the epic muse of 
Homer clothe Hector and Achilles. The ideal rulers and 
commanders — "kings of men" — were types of superhu- 
man grace and beauty. It is said that one of the kings 
of Lacedaemon, was condemned to pay a heavy fine 
because he married an ugly, diminutive woman, who could 
not bear him beautiful children. Of fhe beautiful women, 
I may cite the lovely Helen and Penelope; Phryne, whose 



BEAUTY AMONG THE ANCIENTS. 21 

rare beauty turned the scales of justice; and Aspasia, who 
wrote a book upon the arts of beauty and published many 
formulas that, under different names, have descended to 
our time, a number of which are embraced in the collection 
given in this volume. 

Nor from such a list must we omit the name of the 
lovely, voluptuous Queen of Egypt, for whom Antony 
threw away the sovereignty of the world. Of Greek ori- 
gin, Cleopatra was tinged with a warmer southern fire than 
the pure ideals of Hellas display, and her history makes it 
certain that a passionate and reckless nature aided her won- 
drous beauty in captivating those who came within her 
charmed influence. 

Of the beauty of the Roman women less is said in his- 
tory, not because that beauty was wanting, but because the 
homely virtues were more prized during the simpler and 
more virtuous days of the Republic; and when the corrup- 
tions of the Empire had made mere physical beauty more 
sought than the sweet and gracious charms of the presiding 
deity of the household, the writers who could have trans- 
mitted the names of reigning beauties were gone with the 
glory of their country. The picture of a Roman matron, 
as gathered from the literature of the country, is one of the 
noblest of which it is possible to conceive. Stately of form, 
of a noble and commanding beauty, her first thoughts were 
given to the well ordering of her house, affectionate and 
pious regard for her parents, fidelity to her husband, and 
loving solicitude for her children. What manner of woman 
she was in person can be judged from the many noble and 
beautiful women to be seen in Italy, and especially in Rome, 
to-day. For it is never to be forgotten that the prevailing 



22 DE LA BAXTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

characteristics of a race scarcely change with the revolving 
centuries. That which social philosophers call persistence 
of type is a marked feature of all races. The Egyptian 
monuments preserve in stone features the exact counter- 
part of which may still be met every day on the banks of 
the Nile; and among the captives pictured in their tri- 
umphal processions those of the several nations may be 
picked out with unerring certainty from their resemblance 
to individuals of the same nations, as they are to be met 
with now. In Greece faces are seen in every walk which 
seem to have been reanimated from ancient coins and sculp- 
tures; and many rare and ancient Etruscan gems seem to 
bear likenesses of living men and women who in this nine- 
teenth century wander by Arno's banks or beneath the 
foliage of Yalombrosa. And so the Roman woman whose 
"counterfeit presentment" will be found on page 144, 
though the picture of a living and still young lady, is no 
doubt similar in feature and characteristics to Lucretia and 
Portia — to those who shuddered when the Tarquins' crimes 
were told, or looked out upon the triumph of Titus return- 
ing victorious from the sack of Jerusalem. 

WHAT IS BEAUTY? 

Goethe was once asked this question, and replied, "I do 
not know, but I can show it to you." A celebrated French 
poet, to the same question answered frankly, " I know not 
what." Socrates said it was " a short tyranny." Plato, 
that it was "the privilege of nature," and the " harmony of 
the soul with the mind," also that "the beautiful is the 
splendor of the true." Aristotle considered it united to a 
certain grandeur, abstract and ideal; and Galilian thought 



WHAT IS BEAUTY ? 23 

it a conformity of high colors and soft flesh, elasticity and 
grace of form and harmonious traits. To Fallopio beauty 
was a natural condition of the body in which should exist 
a consistent harmony of substance, disposition, form, and 
color. Mere external beauty is impossible without enlight- 
enment, and is nothing that may not be represented in a 
statue. It is the fire of intelligence, the soul with its play 
of emotions upon the features, in the gestures, and the 
voice that wakes the fellow soul to sympathy and com- 
munion. Too much can not be said in favor of physical 
development; but if physical beauty is adorned and refined 
by mental culture and grace, these will clothe the individual 
with a vesture sparkling with divinity. 

Mercuriali considered a perfect constitution coupled with 
a good disposition as perfect beauty. But opinions do not 
alter the case, although some approach nearer the correct 
ideal than others. The more we become cultivated the 
more our tastes focus upon a single type; the more ignorant 
we remain, the more liable we are to be influenced by capri- 
cious fancies or bias. 

Because the dear love of an Abyssinian is a dusky dam- 
sel of four hundred or thereabout — a very porpoise in pro- 
portions; or the angel whose ideal portrait hangs in the 
heart of the Senegambian is doubly charming with thick 
lips, a well-wooled scalp, a flat nose, and a black skin; or 
a native of Arracan does not feel happy unless his adored 
has ears hanging to her shoulders, with holes in the lobes 
sufficiently large to thrust his arm through, these are no 
reasons for claiming either as the standard ideal of female 
loveliness. I can find in our own enlightened country a 
thousand men in a week who will insist that their wives or 



24 DE LA banta's advice to ladies. 

sweethearts are paragons of perfection, where can be found 
scarce a feature that it may be said is attractive. 

It is natural that the ideals of beauty should vary between 
the wide extremes of the habitable zones, corresponding 
with degrees of enlightenment, and changing with climate, 
nationality, pursuits, modes of subsistence, and education. 
In the Orient, where idleness is a badge of caste, fleshy 
women are the most attractive. The plate on page 128, 
taken from a celebrated Oriental painting, well illustrates 
this. 

In the Occident there is some divergence in taste in this 
regard, as in others, between the phlegmatic German, the 
volatile, buoyant Frenchman, the conservative Englishman, 
and the vivacious American. While all, especially the lat- 
ter, favor the rather slight form, coupled with its peculiar 
grace and expression, Europeans are not disposed to sacri- 
fice substantiality of figure to spirituelle grace and etherial 
lightness, though reigning beauties among the French have 
not been those inclining to grossness. We do not wish to 
draw any comparison between Madame De Stael and Mad- 
ame Recamier, in the matter of personal attractions, since 
the former never made any pretensions to beauty, but her 
genius and brilliancy have never been surpassed by one of 
her sex; yet she often expressed herself to the effect that 
she would gladly exchange places with Madame Recamier, 
such was the attraction of her — I shall not say rival, but 
contemporary, for both were queens in their respective cir- 
cles. Each had ample occasion to be proud of her position, 
and received due homage; still it is evident which boasted 
the most numerous and ardent admirers. De Stael could 
call about her only those of culture and learning. Reca- 



WHAT IS BEAUTY ? 25 

mier could summon to her feet not alone the litterateur, but 
all. Such is the example afforded by two of the greatest 
women in their spheres, contemporaries and friends, wherein 
the comparative value of personal charms and mental supe- 
riority may be observed. What would she be who could 
boast the beauty of Madame Recamier and the intellectual 
gifts of Madame De Stael ! (See portrait, page 32.) 

An expressive and artistic portrait of Madame Recamier 
will be found on page 24. 

Every school - girl, who knows the value of beauty, seeks 
to make her person as attractive as possible with pencil 
and powder and rouge, and behaves as prettily as she can 
instinctively; but she does not always comprehend the best 
methods for reaching the desired result. Let me say that 
beauty in face and form — and better if the heart and mind 
increase the charm — has a practical feature apart from the 
purely esthetic. In other words, it has a financial value; 
it is worth so much in dollars and cents — in husbands and 
homes, in position and influence. At least many look at it 
in that light. 

All the noted beauties of any age have striven hard to 
preserve their loveliness. Diana of Poitiers devoted her- 
self assiduously all her life to the arts of the toilet and 
the methods which assisted nature, looking especially to 
health, and was as charming at sixty as any at thirty. 
Ninon de l'Enclos was also celebrated for almost fadeless 
beauty, so preserving her beauty of contour and fresh- 
ness of complexion to extreme old age that many believed 
she had discovered the secret of perpetual youth. Mary 
Queen of Scots, whose beauty was conspicuous in its effects 
upon history, never, amid the shifting and tumultuous 



26 DE LA BAXTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

scenes about her, neglected the details that lent the most 
brilliant effects to her beauty. Nor was Margaret of Anjou 
less devoted to the preservation of her personal charms. 

Beauty, however, must ever vary according to age, place, 
taste and prejudice. We could not expect all to admire 
the black, sparkling eye, black hair, and dark, rich com- 
plexion of Cleopatra: many would like the pale, melan- 
choly blonde. No formula can satisfy all opinions. To do 
this it would have to meet all the sentiments, passions 
and instincts that inspire to the worship of beauty. In 
youth it is the plump damsel, pulsating with budding 
womanhood, fresh and lovely in her innocence, with waxen 
complexion, carnation lips shaped like Cupid's bow, laugh- 
ing eyes, white teeth and shapely arms, that we admire. 
In after years it is the matured, self- poised woman, 
quiet in repose, with charms defined and pronounced, 
majestic in air and carriage, serene and dignified in deport- 
ment — a beauty like that Montalembert ascribes to Eliza- 
beth of Hungary, the most beautiful woman of her time. 
He says, " Her beauty was regular and perfect, her entire 
figure left no improvement to be desired in it. Her com- 
plexion was dark and clear, her hair black, her figure of 
unrivaled elegance and grace, her walk full of nobleness 
and majesty." 

External beauty can only be a proportion of all the parts, 
a fresh, transparent skin and lively and harmonious colors, 
united to gracefulness of movement. 

The following extract from an old poem written by Jean 
Nevisan, and afterwards by Corniger, in Latin, expresses the 
outward requirements to beauty as well as any opinion I 
can name: 



BEAUTY AND CULTURE. 27 

Three things white: the skin, the teeth and hands; 
Three black: the eyes, the eyebrows and lashes; 
Three red: the lips, the cheeks, the nails; 
Three long : the body, the hair and hands ; 
Three short : the teeth, the ears and feet ; 
Three large : the bust, the head and brow. 

These are general and fixed, and to be in accord with 
them is to possess a correct ensemble. To preserve them 
intact is a duty and an art, and the first requisite to this 
is the preservation of health, for without this beauty can 
not exist. 



BEAUTY AND CULTURE. 

An ignorant woman is a blot upon civilization. She may 
be as beautiful as Hebe, but if the fair temple of beauty be 
unlighted by the lamp of intelligence, she can command 
only the gross admiration of the senses; her smile is a 
meaningless simper; the grace of her form and the beauty 
of her face are lost in the self- consciousness that betrays 
her vacant mind. People admire her until they hear her 
speak, then they shrug their shoulders and say, " What a 
pity! " To preserve the respect her charms inspire she 
must ever remain a beautiful but voiceless statue. 

Savages do not recognize beauty; women with them are 
not dissimilar in any essential respect; but as enlighten- 
ment penetrates the clouded intellect, expression com- 
mences to refine the features, and the soul leaps out in 
thought; harsh outlines relax and merge into elegant 
symmetry and graceful proportion. Polish and refinement, 
education and religion tone the deportment and complete 
a harmonious ensemble. 



28 

It is an erroneous conception of real beauty that leads 
the parvenu to the purchase of worthless paintings at fabu- 
lous prices; and that financially disables impresarios and 
composers who strive to inculcate a refined taste for a high 
order of music in the people, their efforts usually meeting 
with inadequate recognition. The bright colored pictures 
and smooth jingling rhymes that delighted the eye and ear, 
and seemed full of beauty to the heart of our childhood, live 
only in the sweet memories of the past. We have not for- 
gotten the exceedingly slow transition from youth with its 
ideals, assurances and infatuations, to the calm and reflect- 
ive years of judgment and discretion. Youth never remains 
ours too long, but often in its hot-headed arrogance and 
conceit casts the die that will stamp the future with a sor- 
rowful impress, presenting a blot on all the fair pages that 
follow. Courage, ambition, energy, education, opportuni- 
ties and beauty are thus often, through ignorance and the 
unwise and hasty acts of an uncultivated judgment — 
observing only the surface — entirely wasted. A girl buoy- 
ant and gay, loves an ideal Adonis pictured in her heart, 
and too often he is some imaginary hero of a yellow - covered 
novel. Her fancy dwells upon him; she seeks him among 
her associations; she at last spies in some beardless and 
verdant real lover something that offers a faint comparison 
with her ideal. Remembering that "love goes where it is 
sent," and, her young vigorous nature yearning for recip- 
rocal affection, she opens the battery of her eyes and 
smiles and graces upon him. It would be quite too ungal- 
lant, according to his idea of Cupid's warfare, not to return 
the fire, and before he is aware he has surrendered and 
finds it more delightful to be a prisoner to the fair victor 



BEAUTY AND CULTURE. 29 

than the commander of his own affections; indeed, he finds 
he has been severely attacked by some treacherous enemy 
within his own works, who has let the invader in and 
assisted in the charge. They now are recognized as lovers; 
both give their time to wooing and being won, and Cupid's 
delusions are not calculated to open their eyes. They give 
no attention to any thing but love, the kind of love that is 
described in trashy literature, to the exclusion of sensible 
studies and occupations with a view to a higher round in 
the ladder of life than marriage; each sees in the other the 
transcendent ideal of beauty — but they little think it a 
painted fancy that, under the scrutiny of discerning years, 
will be found infinitely at fault. They marry, she at six- 
teen, he at twenty. Result — family cares following a brief 
honey- moon; domestic troubles and infelicity; maternal 
duties; a constant struggle with ignorance and crude judg- 
ment; advantages of society, education and culture cutoff. 
Happiness flees before the uncompromising responsibilities 
they have taken upon them. At twenty - one and twenty- 
five respectively, both are thoroughly alive to their folly, 
and chafe in their chains. He has grown from a fancied 
Adonis to an angular, churlish, indifferent and unattractive 
man, who at best never possessed the traits and qualities 
her more cultured eye would have selected, and she won- 
ders for the life of her how she could ever have been foolish 
enough to picture him as her ideal, and worse still, to marry 
him. He, equally emphatic as to doubts of his own sanity 
at an earlier period, sees only an emaciated and pale, 
peevish woman who, if she ever had beauty, hast lost it, 
and he curses the day he ever thought she had. The poor 
girl, indeed, with her cares and deprivations, away from the 
3 



30 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

sunshine under which she might have developed from a 
lovely blossom into ripe and luscious fruit, has withered in 
the bud. The roses are everywhere but in their home. 
Possibly they strive for the children's sake to live it out, 
content to die with the regrets of a wasted life. It is more 
than probable, however, that they separate; a divorce is 
sought, and both return home to begin anew when it is too 
late — ruined. 

The picture I have drawn illustrates the inner life of 
thousands of families where the unchecked indulgence of 
misguided impulses in youth has brought in its train a 
multitude of woes that descend from father to son, from 
mother to daughter; and how much of it can be traced to 
any other source at the very outset than erroneous ideas of 
beauty? Ignorant of what it was, they cherished what they 
thought it to be, but as soon as experience and better 
knowledge came to them, they discovered their mistake. 
Where beauty is, the heart nine times out of ten will be 
satisfied, despite unfortunate surroundings, hence the neces- 
sity at all times of endeavoring to foster it in man and 
woman, especially the latter. More of happiness comes 
with it than with position or gold. 

The Arabs have a proverb that says: " Marrying a woman 
for her beauty, is like eating a bird for its singing." That 
is the mere flesh and blood beauty, taken upon trust at first 
sight, and resulting in the spoliation of two lives, though 
the evil seldom stops there. No greater curse can befall 
its possessor than the gift of uncultured, unrefined 
beauty, without education to enhance and retain the dowry 
or religion to dignify it. Too earnest a plea for culture and 



BEAUTY A2sD CULTURE. 31 

education can not be offered if the general standard of 
beauty is thereby elevated. 

It is true I aim principally to improve the technique of 
beauty, but I am aware it can not be wholly unassociated 
with what is directly related to it. In the individual the 
taste, manner, voice, language, naivete, and all the little 
esthetic charms add largely to the sum total of loveliness; 
and in physical technique also, while woman possesses cer- 
tain qualities that essentially belong to her in all ages of 
civilization, all climates and all ranks of society, there are 
still others about her that border on the beautiful, which, if 
they would add distinction, must be favored by force of cul- 
tivation. These are delicacy of texture, fineness and fresh- 
ness of the skin, posing of the form, gentleness of 
manner, flexibility and grace of attitude, lightness of move- 
ment and fascinating traits of the visage, all to some extent 
depending upon culture to give them proper expression 
and complete the perfect ensemble. 

Corporeal beauty, therefore, is the fullest development of 
all the mental faculties and physical traits. To this end 
the education of the mind gives scope, dignity, nobleness, 
an intelligent shape to the head, and brightness and soul to 
the expression. Social intercourse and accomplishments 
impart grace and elegance to the movement, carriage and 
deportment, refining the taste, disposition, pride and other 
personal attributes. Religion stimulates gentleness and 
true kindness and the varied qualities of the heart. Polite 
and esthetic culture refines the sentiment and inspires to the 
divine qualities, as music, poetry and art, which tone and 
polish also the entire mental and material being; while 
physical training directly imparts symmetry and free 



32 DE LA BANTA's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

action, a healthful vigor to the organs, and a firm, fresh, 
glowing natural beauty to the body, and these combined 
constitute the beauty it is desired should be possessed by 
every woman. 

There are many improvements that can only be made by 
a resort to cosmetic art — varied touches here and there to 
define a curve more clearly perhaps, to develop an 
expression or heighten an effect; but the items I have 
dwelt upon are better calculated to build the foundation 
— even the structure — after the Creator's design; and it is 
only when and where these fail that art should be relied 
upon wholly. 

Mistaken ideas of life help to defeat the ends most 
sought, and no element suffers as does beauty. 

If women could but look into the hearts of men they 
would read there many secrets, among which they would 
discover that much of the dissatisfaction with wives, much 
of the absence from them of husbands, much of the dis- 
agreeable in the home results from indifference to their 
personal appearance on the part of women. This fault 
can not be deprecated too seriously. Many ladies, after 
the heyday of youth is passed, seem to make no effort to 
set off their charms to the best advantage^ save as they 
occasionally spur up to some extraordinary display. Often 
domestic duties, maternity and its cares — always a trial to 
the nerves, strength and ambition — exclude them more or 
less from society until they lose interest and become indif- 
ferent to its demands. This is followed by inattention to 
the person. Even dress is neglected, and the deportment 
loses the queenly grace and gentleness so essential to 
lady -like bearing. Others seem to have aimed only to 







MADAME DE STAEL. 



BEAUTY AND CULTURE. OO 

secure a husband. At their wedding receptions and earlier 
at homes they exhibit rare taste and culture, are exquisite in 
make - up and brilliant in conversation, but with the wane 
of the honeymoon they relapse into indifference, indolence 
and ennui, as if their lives had been strained to such ten- 
sion in the effort to catch a husband that the cord was all 
but ready to snap when they won the prize, and now the 
inevitable reaction seems to follow. They are nearly 
always en neglige in the presence of their husbands; lose all 
zest for society, or on the other hand exhaust their energies 
to appear fascinating in company, reserving nothing better 
for husband and home than languid indifference. 

Others still appear to believe personal attractiveness, 
elaboration in dress, and gracious manners are for those 
particularly whose future is dependent upon their charms 
— the young and gay; that polish and feminine graces, 
like perfumes and gems, must be reserved for the circles 
of the beau monde; that the brush and chisel of time 
should be allowed to color and hack at pleasure; that the 
arts de toilette are a vulgar deception, and all attempts 
to make themselves beautiful at home are but waste of 
time. 

Beauty in woman must ever be cultivated; she is noth- 
ing without it; by it she endears herself to her husband 
and is admired by the world; without it, though she may 
have been the idol of a husband's love for years and the 
mother of his children, she may drive him to seek it else- 
where. It is impossible to make home happy while aban- 
doning all the little amenities that come of culture, 
ignoring courtesy, dignity and elegance in the family 
circle, and putting on these refinements with the dress for 



34 BE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

social occasions; in other words, having two sets of man- 
ners, one for borne and the other for society. Whatever 
your position, whether spinster, widow or wife, never, as 
you prize your womanly standing and worth, abandon that 
which makes you charming in person, heart and mind. 
Preserve it by cultivating bodily health and mental graces, 
nor ignore the judicious use of art assistants. 

The flight of time need never cause a fear lest you may 
lose your sway with the departure of the fresh charms of 
early years. Youth with its "voluptuous physiognomy of 
pleasure " — the beauty of the maid, and the charms of the 
developed and stately woman, combined with the wisdom 
of years, may be retained by her who walks down the 
shady side if she will — the rose of the morning retaining 
its freshness beneath the noonday sun, and scattering its 
fragrance amid the silver beams that tinge the tresses of 
night. Such was the beauty of Diana de Poitiers, the 
reigning beauty at the courts of three successive kings of 
France. "At sixty years of age," Brantome, who knew 
her well, says, " she was as charming, as fresh and as lovely 
as any lady of thirty." He further says it was claimed 
that certain skilled doctors and subtle apothecaries pre- 
pared for her daily a potion of soluble gold, and that this 
or some similar drug it was that preserved her beauty. 
But this is an error. It might as well have been the rain- 
water in which she is said to have bathed each day; but 
neither was it this alone: it was proper care of her person 
— an understanding of cause and effect and of what was 
most desirable and charming in woman, and studying how 
by the best natural processes and the aids of cosmetic art 
she could preserve the semblance of youth. She never 



BEAUTY AND CULTUBE. 35 

grew old. Dying at sixty -seven, there were few could 
boast rarer charms at the time of her demise. 

Women are like flowers : at best they bloom and fade 
quickly. There is no present; they were yesterday blos- 
soms : to-morrow they will be withered stems, unless they 
keep well beaten the path to the fountain of youth. It 
is when beauty begins to fade that it is not alone a neces- 
sity to appeal to art, but a duty to study its possibilities 
and make it fill as nearly as may be the province of nature; 
but no artificial device can long conceal the marks of 
decay. 

Ninon de l'Enclos, a woman as philosophical as beautiful, 
by dint of extreme care and knowledge of the cosmetic 
arts, preserved her charms so well that at fifty she was as 
fascinating as a girl. Madame Recamier, the most beauti- 
ful French woman of her time, was in youth subject to 
careful supervision and instruction by a fond mother, to 
whom she owed her wondrous complexion. The knowledge 
thus obtained she used to advantage in later years. But 
the devices of art were ever of secondary importance. 
They who have been successful in preserving their beauty 
to comparatively mature years have acted upon the knowl- 
edge that rosy cheeks and a clear complexion, a swelling 
bosom and plump arms, must derive their charm from a 
deeper reservoir than the powder box, rouge pallet and 
arsenic bottle. 



Physical Disability: 



In undertaking to advise women in the matter of per- 
sonal beauty, I can do no less than point out some of the 
causes of the defects I am to contend with. 

It is a doctrine with regular physicians of the old school 
that medicine has no dynamic power to cure disease: that 
the most it can do is to remove the cause of the disease, 
when nature will effect a cure. If a man runs a thorn into 
his flesh, he first removes the thorn; then he carefully 
cleanses the wound and protects it from further injury. 
Nature, and nature alone, can reunite the severed parts. It 
is just so where personal beauty has been lost or lessened 
through disease or neglect of nature's laws. All disease is 
crime — crime in the diseased person or his or her ancestors, 
for the sins of the fathers (and mothers) are visited upon 
the children to many generations. The effects of inherited 
disease can never be entirely eradicated, but thev can be 
mitigated. Where the evil habits have not been inherited 
they must be abandoned before amendment in figure and 
improvement in appearance are looked for. As well put on 
salve to heal the sore finger without removing the thorn as 
to look for restored beautv bv the aid of cosmetics without 

■ ■ 

removing the bad habits which have resulted in personal 

unloveliness. 



PHYSICAL DISABILITIES. 37 

So wide is the fatal influence of bad habits and unfavor- 
able surroundings that one rarely escapes all traces of 
their withering breath, rising insidiously from some of 
those numerous fastnesses, dank and noisome, which the 
intelligent world permits to exist, though not unconscious 
that the many ills which have preyed upon past genera- 
tions were attributable to this prolific source. 

Alas ! wise world ! it little knew 
What foul corruption festered where 
The ivy twined and holly grew, 
Nor who among its young and fair 
The nightshade and the upas slew ; 
Ne'er dreamed the fatal adder's breath 
Did taint the balmy evening air, 
And every poison lade with death 
Did freight the vapors hanging there. 

In laying bare a few of the ills that work these lamenta- 
ble injuries, it is with feelings of satisfaction that I am 
also enabled to suggest the several remedies appropriate to 
each. In order to attain the serene heights of spiritual 
perfection, it is necessary that we thoroughly understand 
our physical necessities. 

One cause of much trouble is early, severe, long - con- 
tinued, improper and confining labor. Very young girls 
especially should never be kept at any work which cramps 
their bodies, overtasks their strength, or keeps them during 
the greater part of the day from the fresh air and sunshine 
so essential to proper development and healthy growth. 
Stunted growth, distorted limbs, bent bodies, wasted 
strength, pale, lifeless features, sallow skin, and spiritless 
motions are sure to be the result. In most civilized coun- 
tries the law, more humane than many parents, now 



38 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

provides that children under a certain age shall not be per- 
mitted to work in factories longer than a certain number of 
hours; but it can not take supervision of households, where 
mere children are often compelled to drudge through labor 
which would weary a strong woman. Parents so inconsid- 
erate as to command this are guilty of a terrible crime. 

Xext in gravity to this, perhaps, is the practice with ava- 
ricious employers of crowding large numbers of operati- 
into close, confined quarters, where they have not the fresh 
air and bright sunshine necessarv to health. A little monev 
is saved by this, but at what a frightful expense of life and 
health! 

Alas ! that bread should be so dear, 
And flesh and blood so cheap ! 

Proprietors of shops, too. who employ female clerks, often 
impose harsh and oppressive rules upon their female depend- 
ents. In many places, the clerks are not allowed to sit 
during the whole day. no matter though there be absolutely 
nothing to do. and because a whim of the employer must 
be obeyed many a poor woman endures almost inconceiv- 
able agony, and her pale face and suffering expression tell 
of health ruined and constitution undermined. 

It is highly creditable to our modern civilization that the 
condition of women improves just in proportion as that 
civilization advances. Among barbarous tribes the woman 
does all the coarse and heavy work — is, in fact, nothing 
but a mere slave to her lazy lord, who amuses himself in 
the chase, or idly sleeps the hours away, while his wife toils. 

In some countries which pretend to a high state of civili- 
zation, however, women are compelled by necessitv or cus- 



PHYSICAL DISABILITIES. 39 

torn to do much hard labor quite unsuited to their strength 
and altogether inconsistent with fine development and 
beauty. In districts where the women perform much of 
the agricultural labor, observe how coarse and muscular 
they become; there is not a line about them that does not 
spealt of their rude avocations; they grow brawny and lose 
every vestige of beauty, and the feminine traits corre- 
spondingly decline. Look at the worn and emaciated 
clerks and factory girls throughout the world; these become 
mothers, and transmit to their children the faulty physiques 
and unsound constitutions they have acquired. 

We take prompt measures to avert the plague, and to 
stay its ravages, but we idly view, even sanction, the evils 
among us which bring in their train suffering and death. 
They become a part of us, insinuating themselves into our 
very bones and sinews, into our ideas, our religion itself, 
until they change the human form divine — dwarf and bend 
it at the pleasure of ignorance, prejudice, and the circum- 
stances and vicissitudes of life. 

Show me a woman, perfect in health, physique and 
accomplishments, and you will reveal to me a wonder. Do 
my fair readers ever consider this glaring fact, that girl- 
hood is no longer fresh and rosy, the incarnation of budding 
beauty; that sweet sixteen — that rapturous age in a 
woman's existence when life should be all couleur de rose — 
is now a period of racking disorders, without name or 
class, a fair fruit ripened before its time, and withered 
before it should be ripe; a drooping flower fading while it 
blooms. The matured womanhood, mellowed and voluptu- 
ous, eloquent in its dignified reserve, and ravishing in its 
developed symmetrv and conscious beauty, of which the 



-IU DE LA BANTA's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

masters write, is but an ideal stage between the vouno- and 
old. The worm that gnaws the vitals and steals the roses 
from the cheeks of the maid ceases not until it transforms 
the mold and beauty of youth into the sallow and 
weazened crone. Only those who are desperate at seeing 
their loveliness depart ere they have tasted life know how 
women struggle with the unknown foe that creeps steadily 
and surely upon them, sinking the cheek, dulling the eye 
and stamping its crows' - tracks and wrinkles deep on tem- 
ple and brow; stealing the firmness from the flesh and 
muscles, and killing life before they had dreamed that its 
sun had begun to wane. 

Is this a painted unreality? Consult yourselves; look 
about you! Look at the school -girls — the young ladies — 
the women of twenty - hve, and upward: how few without 
some serious defect! drooping, sad -faced, bent in form, 
weary in movement, prematurely aging. Certainly there 
is some cause for it. Is it climate? No. Has humanitv 
Darwinized to its fullest capacity, and is it now degenerat- 
ing, retrograding to its original condition of dwarfish imbe- 
cility and weakness, thence again to repeat the process ad 
infinitum ? I think it doubtful. 

I apprehend the principal cause of this evil to be a slavish 
subserviency of the body to the necessities, not less than 
to the luxuries, of life. The world has labor for its legacy. 
The best that is known to humanity is wrought through 
labor, and the only curse that attaches to it is in allowing 
it to derange the human aspect, molding it to assume 
cruder forms. Note every man, woman or child who works 
steadily, and see if you can not trace some defect directly 
to the particular kind of labor each performs. 




SEWING WOMEN. 

40 



PHYSICAL DISABILITIES. 41 

The human figure is subject to but lew varied positions 
while engaged in but one occupation. As examples: 
Many kinds of labor affect only the shoulders, from a cer- 
tain position while stooping, perhaps; others, the limbs; 
others, the chest, or hands, or back. Hence scarcely a labor- 
ing person exists who does not present some blemish from 
constant routine of application, allowing it to shape him 
roughly. Add to this the illy ventilated rooms where mil- 
lions of intelligent human beings are employed, and in 
which they spend their waking hours, and we cease to 
wonder that human physical perfection exists only in the 
ideal. 

Since Madame Eve reclined among the roses and violets 
of Eden, sewing her fig-leaf attire, women of every land 
have sat and sewed, stitching through all the ages down to 
the era of that pathetic appeal, " The Song of the Shirt." 
The fair girl weaving — the thread of her thoughts far 
away with her absent lover to keep back the dull aches and 
weariness — the matron sewing for her family with not a 
thought save for the duty — both toil on and on until 
their chests grow sunken, and their backs and shoulders 
bent, and life and wretchedness become synonymous terms. 

Millions of tender and winsome women have sewed 
away their beauty and shapeliness and health, shortening 
their lives, with never a thought that their toil need not 
prove so irksome, nor their bodies become wrecks on 
account of it; never dreaming that, if frequent intervals 
of cessation had been taken from their tasks for relaxing 
the body; a breath of fresh air, to expand the lungs; straight- 
ening the crooks and knots out of the frame; loosening the 
joints by a few movements of light, genial exercise, the 



42 DE LA BAXTA's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

roses had not flown their cheeks so quickly; their figures 
would have continued as pliant as in youth, instead of 
being now misshapen and toil - worn. 

Many heartless masters and mistresses, who oversee the 
millions of working women, will find at their doors the sad- 
ness, suffering and injury that can not end with the years 
of their victims, but are entailed upon coming generations. 

All the varied household duties devolving upon women 
the world over tend also to weigh them down, unless thev 
make them subservient to their personal will and comfort. 

It may be argued that household duties are now made 
lighter by mechanical aids — the sewing machine has sup- 
planted the needle, yet it has brought its evils: more help, 
but an increase of work, demanding skill, patience and 
much bodily strength. Many other burdens have been les- 
sened by the inventor, but mothers still find work to be 
done. What is true of sewing women is true of all who 
labor. Unless great care is exercised, any long continued 
exertion fastens upon the system some habit peculiar to it, 
whereas occasional relief and recreation aid nature, start 
the blood bounding through the pulses; the muscles renew 
their normal tension, and though vears of labor be the lot 
of women they will, if rightly directed and interspersed 
with rest and recreation, prove a blessing and not a 
curse. Beauty, health, symmetry and a better functional 
capacity for the duties pertaining to their lives will be 
vouchsafed. 

The favorites of fortune, clothed in purple and fine linen, 
have not enjoyed immunity from the enervating lethargy 
of indolence and ennui. Their lives have burdens beneath 
which they bow. The weary languor, the depressing moods 



PHYSICAL DISABILITIES. 43 

which result from want of the life - giving principle, the con- 
ditions which they, above all others who court beauty of 
face and figure, should seek to avoid, indispose them to 
their injury quite as much as does excessive toil their 
oppressed sisters. 

Whilins: awav the hours in the boudoir or librarv, without 
proportionate exercise and fresh air, conduces to enerva- 
tion of the vital organs in those who toil not, and they 
die as early as those whose lot is not cast among the roses. 
And they deserve to suffer, for they have no excuse. The 
inheritors of wealth should be Hebes, but alas! luxury and 
decay go hand in hand. I know it is a truth that beauty 
of person and fine development of figure are not always 
found belonging to the favored of circumstances, who have 
every opportunity to gratify their fine esthetic tastes. But 
the wealthy are few, the poor are many, and it is among 
the latter we class the workers. Let these begin now to 
make labor subservient to their highest physical needs. 
Let the student at his desk, the painter at his easel, and 
the musician at his keys, no longer bear marks of servi- 
tude, or, worse still, transmit them to their offspring. I 
will show that this crying evil may be avoided, and labor 
made a means of developing the human frame instead of 
destroying its grace and marring its beauty. 

The millions of workers in all professions and trades 
grow just as the counters, desks, benches or stools will 
allow them, when on the contrary they should be the 
conservators of their own bodies, making labor serve the 
double purpose of earning a desirable competence and 
fostering health, strength, grace and symmetry of physique. 
Habits grow so imperceptibly and easily that before we 
4 



44 DE LA BANTA's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

are aware they have warped us to their own uses. Espe- 
cially do those affecting the figure influence us unless we 
are on the alert to understand and steadily resist their fatal 
encroachments. 

It is a duty to ourselves and our posterity to possess per- 
fect health and to develop all physical powers to their 
highest and best capacity, uniting the most charming 
accomplishments of mind and person. 

We are not placed in this world merely to elbow our way 
through it by careless paths and in an indifferent manner. 
We are to make this life as bright as we can and develop 
physically and intellectually, performing every duty for the 
good of ourselves and posterity. This becomes the para- 
mount duty of all, but the greatest responsibility rests 
with women, for the race owes most to its mothers: it is 
they who mold tender susceptible youth, and their influ- 
ence is most potent always. No duties are so important 
as those of maternity; no knowledge so valuable as that 
which teaches them to conserve the physical perfection 
of the race. 

Pertinent to this subject is the following extract from a 
paper read by Doctor Allen, before the Massachusetts 
Social Science Association on "The population of Mas- 
sachusetts, and changes in the physical organization of 
females in relation to the laws of human increase." Dr. 
Allen said it was generally understood that the birth rate 
in any prosperous country ought to be about one in thirty, 
but the birth rate of the native population in Massachusetts 
is only about one in forty. A similar state of affairs exists 
in most of the other New England States. A comparison 
made one year between Vermont and England showed the 



PHYSICAL DISABILITIES. 45 

birth rate in Vermont to be one in forty-nine, against one 
in twenty-nine in England. The only New England State 
in which there is a healthy increase of the native population 
is Maine. Continuing, the Doctor said: 

For some time the physical organization of New England women 
has been changing unfavorably for the production of offspring. This 
change has been brought about by the neglect of domestic labor and 
muscular exercise, of wrong habits of dress and diet and incorrect 
systems of education, and the result is a multiplicity of weaknesses 
and pains which Were unknown to our grandmothers, and are un- 
known now to English, Irish and German women. The present 
system of education tends to the excessive development of the nervous 
temperament, and this impairs the strength of the system and renders 
women incompetent to fulfill the duties of maternity. The true 
remedy for these changes in the physical organization of females 
will be found in increased physical exercise and muscular develop- 
ment, reforms in dress, diet, and education, and a more intelligent 
consideration of the proper purposes of the marriage relation. 



The Figure. 



The figure should be studied as a whole. A beautiful 
face, bust, hand or foot must not alone be considered, but 
should be subservient to and contribute to the entirety; nor 
must we allow intellectual expression and refined grace to 
make us forget the necessity for physical correctness. The 
former is ardently to be desired: the latter is imperatively 
demanded. Refinement is essential to the highest beauty; 
but there can be no real beauty without bodily symmetry 
and grace. The human building — the noblest temple of 
God — must have a good foundation. Then may the pillars 
Jachin and Boaz be set up, and Strength and Beauty will 
adorn the stately fabric. 

The laws of proportion, as laid down by ancient artists 
are as follows: The whole figure is six times the length of 
the foot;* whether the form be slender or plump, the rule 
holds good; any deviation from it is a departure from the 
highest beauty in proportion. The Greeks made all their 
statues according to this scale. The face, from the highest 
point of the forehead, where the hair begins, to the chin, is 
one tenth of the whole stature. From the top of the 
chest to the highest point in the forehead, is a seventh. If 
the length of the face, from the roots of the hair to the 

*Some moderns maintain that the height should he seven and a half times the 
length of the foot. 

46 



THE FIGURE. 47 

chin, be divided into three equal parts, the first division 
determines where the eyebrows meet, and the second the 
place of the nostrils. The height from the feet to the top 
of the head is the same as the distance between the 
extremities of the fingers when the arms are extended. 
The length of the hand is one tenth the height; the diameter 
of the chest, from armpit to armpit, one fifth; the lower 
limbs exactly one half; and these should be equally divided 
by the knee. 

By physiological rules, external indications of the figure 
reflect corresponding traits in character and tempera- 
ment. According to Dr. O. S. Fowler the arm and hand 
symbolize the figure perfectly. Persons with long hands 
will have long fingers, toes, arms, legs, bodies, and heads. 
Short persons with broad shoulders will have broad hands, 
fingers and limbs. When the bones of the hands are promi- 
nent, the bones of the body are the same. Thus he says: 
" Let a hand be thrust through a hole, and I will tell the 
general character of its owner, because if it be large or 
small, hard or soft, strong or weak, firm or flabby, coarse - 
grained or fine - grained, even or prominent, small - boned 
or large-boned, or whatever else, the whole body must be 
built on the same principle, with which the brain and men- 
tality must correspond." 

The pyriform or oval face indicates predominating mental 
faculties, and is accompanied with the high forehead, straight 
nose, very expressive eyes, wavy or curling hair, medium 
frame, limbs moderately rounded, and the figure lacking 
fullness, but characterized by superior intellectuality and 
grace. The oblong face with prominent features points to 
the active or motive temperament; is associated with dark, 



4S ^E LA BASTA*S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

strong, abundant hair, somewhat long and tapering neck, 
rather broad and well-defined shoulders, moderate full- 
ness of bosom (in women), finely shaped waist, and rea- 
sonably long and slender limbs. A round face is a sure 
indication of the vital temperament. This is united with 
blue eyes, a fair complexion, light soft hair, rather short 
neck, shapely and well rounded shoulders, a full chest, and 
(in women) a prominent development of bosom, large but 
tapering limbs, comparatively small and well -shaped hands 
and feet, and the entire figure portly in man and soft and 
voluptuous in woman. 

I am of the firm opinion that, were ladies to appreciate 
the true valuation set upon a fine, erect and well developed 
female figure by gentlemen, they would give quite as much 
attention to it as they do the face and personal adornment, 
if not more. It is evident that they are aware of this 
to a certain extent; else why do they pad and artificially 
give shape to the bosom, and seek by every device to con- 
ceal defects of form and appear as finely moulded as nature 
intended? It is a fact that were ladies to devote as much 
attention to a proper system of development as they now 
do to artificial make up, it would tend to make them as 
perfect as Hebes. It is a very difficult task, and one 
requiring consummate skill, to beautify many faces arti- 
ficially, while to develop the human figure is a compara- 
tively easy one; and there is more real beauty in the figure 
than it is possible to find in the face alone, be it ever so 
attractive; for a beautiful face set upon narrow, stooped 
shoulders and a sunken chest suffers beyond estimate. 

That a handsome face atones for many faults mental and 
physical, and is a happy possession to any lady, is true; but 




VEKUS AKD THE APPLE, (Figure). 

48 



THE FIGURE. 49 

it loses sadly when associated with such blemishes as a 
coarse vulgar voice, plebeian manners, tainted breath, dis- 
agreeable bearing, or marked deficiency of figure. The 
separate features and portions of the body I shall consider 
separately, treating in this connection of general faults and 
their causes, and giving counsel which may tend to their 
alleviation. 

Frequently one side of the body becomes larger and 
more symmetrical than the other; a plausible explanation 
of this is that the blood vessels leaving the heart carry to 
the right side more nourishment than to the left, and the 
development of the muscles on that side is therefore 
quickened. 

Upon both sides we discover organs nearly alike, never- 
theless there is a constant rivalry, resulting in more or less 
inequality. Not seldom is this due to the habit of sleeping 
upon one side only. Besides being destructive of all 
grace, other injuries ensue, such as displacement of the 
internal organs, defective digestion, unequal pressure, etc., 
affecting the general health and destructive of freshness 
and beauty. It is better to change frequently the posi- 
tion when sleeping, lying least upon the side affected and 
much upon the back, without a pillow. When neither 
side is diseased it is best to lie upon the right side, as in 
that position the heart has freer action and the stomach is 
in the most favorable position for digestion. 

With most persons faults of figure are the effects of 
ignprance on the part of parents. For example, bow or 
bandy legs result nearly always from indulging the precocity 
of infants in their attempts to walk; uneven shoulders are 
caused in children by nursing and lying chiefly on one side, 



50 DE LA BAXTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

and in adults by sitting in a certain position at desk or 
easel. Round shoulders result from many causes, chiefly in 
children from a languid indifference or enervation conse- 
quent upon their rapid growth, which prompts them to lop 
down, when sitting, into a shapeless bundle — a fault which 
calls for the closest watchfulness on the part of parents, 
teachers and nurses, until the vertebral column has assumed 
its normal poise, the shoulders become square and erect, the 
neck and head firmly and evenly set. giving the trunk full 
latitude for development, and the lungs and other vital 
organs ample opportunity for healthful, vigorous growth 
and action. A habit of sleeping with the head hi^h is a 
frequent cause of rounded shoulders. It is more injurious 
than is generally supposed, to both infants and adults. 
Nearly all labor tends to this deformity, as does studv; 
hence an erect figure is the exception. 

A terrible disease, fatal in the extreme to beauty of form, 
and fraught with intense suffering, is curvature of the spine. 
It is traceable to numerous causes, as lack of proper care 
of girls at the critical change from childhood to woman- 
hood. It is also induced in women by neglect to observe 
suitable precautionary measures against colds at periodical 
changes of the system, also from imprudence in "getting 
up" too early after confinement, and from injury. It is 
treated with cups, blisters, and often by searing the back 
with hot irons. "While these remedies may prove beneficial, 
they are severe, and I think milder treatment may be 
employed with even better results. By a system of pads 
and springs and steel braces, the shoulders and sides are 
supported in such manner as to render curvature impossi- 
ble. The patient is quite as much at ease when standing 



THE FIGURE. 51 

as when lying, braced by these supports, and the spine 
finds relief from pain consequent upon the pressure that 
forces it again into its natural position. Those who have 
suffered for years without finding relief, have by these 
improved appliances been enabled to move about with com- 
parative ease. These braces, however, should be fitted 
exactly, or they may cause injury instead of benefit. But 
in this case as in so many others, prevention is better 
than cure. Let wise and watchful care be exercised over 
girls at the most critical period of their lives, and let 
matured women beware of the insidious approach of this 
destroying evil if they would save themselves. 

What shall I say of those other still more common tor- 
ments — malignant and destroying — known as "female 
diseases?" These in some form are the most inexorable 
persecutors of women, and most destructive of grace in 
motion. All are liable to them, few escape them, and 
heaven only knows how much of happiness is destroyed, 
how many lives are blighted, what health and symmetry 
and loveliness are crushed out by these dreadful inflictions. 

Women know too well their causes. Fashion is largely 
responsible for their presence. Ladies with every resource 
at their command, with time to take care of themselves, 
deserve less pity than their unfortunate sisters who sit at 
the sewing-machine or stand at the counter months and 
years, under the necessity of earning their bread. And do 
we not see more in proportion of the higher class suffering 
from some of the numerous ills peculiar to women than 
among the laboring? I do not exaggerate when I state 
that curvature, drooping shoulders, a languid air, a sallow 
or bloodless skin and chronic indisposition, have almost 



52 

become adjuncts of fashion. In all cities I encounter these 
ailments among those refined, and intelligent ladies, 
whom it is a pleasure and an honor to meet and know; 
and it is an unpleasant fact to chronicle that the vast 
majority of them are debilitated in body, and owe their 
figures almost without exception to the dressmaker and 
" artist." 

I counsel ladies to have recourse to the proverbial 
" ounce of prevention " in meeting these difficulties. They 
will surely find it preferable to a later resort to the ' ; pound 
of cure." 

I would recommend, however, that in serious cases medi- 
cal advice be sought and acted upon, and that so soon as 
practicable recourse be had to calisthenics. 



DEVELOPMENT. 

It is necessary to understand something of the effects of 
exercise in order to employ it intelligently. 

When we put in motion any part of the body, an 
increased waste of muscular fiber and nerve force takes 
place. The blood, however, purified of refuse matter by 
quickened respiration and increased perspiration caused 
by the exercise, continually supplies new material to repair 
the loss. The appetite responds to the new demands thus 
made upon it, so that exercise, instead of consuming and 
lessening vital power, causes its increase. It must not be 
forgotten, however, that regularity is necessary if the good 
effects of exercise would be realized. 

Training is svstematic and judicious exercise, calculated 



DEVELOPMENT. 53 

to develop all parts of the body equally, secure symmetry 
and beauty, and insure health. 

Excess wastes the vital forces and lessens muscular and 
nervous energy. Muscle developed by forced training is 
gained at the expense of general vitality. 

If we inquire into the direct effects of physical exercise, 
we will discover that it accelerates the action of the heart 
and equalizes and increases the circulation; that running, 
leaping, or other violent exercise aids the propelling power 
of the heart, diffusing the blood through all the ramifications 
of the system. Such exertion in the fresh air causes a larger 
supply of life - giving oxygen to be taken into the system 
at each inspiration. It is this which gives to the blood its 
bright red hue when in the lungs, and which, on being dis- 
tributed through the system, supplies the waste by being 
absorbed from the blood, which returns to the lungs, dark- 
ened in color, for a fresh supply. Thus the blood conveys 
the elixir vitce into the system in proportion to the vio- 
lence of the exertion. The amount of blood in an average- 
sized adult is about four gallons, or quite thirty pounds, and 
its entire volume passes once through the heart — circulation 
is completed — in three hundred contractions of that organ. 
The pulse, which usually beats at the rate of from seventy 
to seventy -five pulsations a minute, by walking at the 
rate of four miles per hour, increases to one hundred and 
thirty. The pedestrian who walks five miles an hour sub- 
mits to a complete purifying and circulation of the blood 
every two minutes; if indulging in moderate exercise, the 
time required is about two and a half minutes; and when a 
person remains at rest four minutes are required. Besides 
affecting the action of the blood, walking favors digestion, 



54 de la banta's adtice to ladies. 

aids perspiration in carrying off impurities, invigorates the 
tissues and cuticle, heightens the temperature of the body, 
and tones and invigorates both the mental and the physical 
powers. 

To quote literally from an able writer on this subject, to 
whom I am also indebted for a number of the foregoing 
facts: " If exercise be customary and habitual it will main- 
tain the circulation in healthful equilibrium. The muscles 
have their substance used up while they are being employed 
in vigorous exercise, but in the intervals of rest they 
will orow, enlaro-ino; bv an excess of o-ain over loss, because 

9 ' 9 9 •/ ~ 

blood is circulating through them, out of which they may 
appropriate the material for muscular tissue. So that it will 
not be onlv while we are takino- exercise that we shall be 
equalizing the circulation and deriving the benefits which 
attend that condition — we shall live through the day and 
sleep through the night under this prime condition of health; 
while we rest we shall be growing more fit for greater exer- 
tions. The exercise which fatigued at first will not be 
enough to satisfy us as we get stronger and larger muscles." 

Insensible perspiration is continuous, though impercep- 
tible. Physical exertion renders this sensible, thus facili- 
tating a more rapid and thorough discharge of effete and 
poisonous matter through the pores of the skin, the natural 
channel. When it is considered that the quantity perspired 
dailv bv an average sized individual is from twentv - five to 
thirty -five ounces, and that this contains at least one per 
cent, of solid matter injurious to the health, and which, 
unless properly eliminated must lurk in the system, we can 
readily see the value of judicious exercise. 

Ventilation is a subject of vital interest to every one. 



DEVELOPMENT. 55 

The necessity of pure air to health, and hence to vigorous 
development, is paramount to all others, I think, in the 
domain of hygiene. Indifference to or ignorance of this 
law in northern latitudes, where habitations are closed two 
thirds of the year, in consequence of which the atmosphere 
reeks with poisonous gases, causes a very large per- 
centage of the diseases arising from blood poisoning; 
while those diseases known as zymotic, such as scarlet, 
typhus, typhoid, and puerperal fevers, small -pox, measles, 
erysipelas, diphtheria, croup, whooping - cough, quinsy, in- 
fluenza, cerebro - spinal meningitis, remittent fever, etc., in 
most cases result from foul gases impregnating dwellings, 
schools, etc., through defective drainage or the presence of 
decaying matter, in addition to faults of ventilation. Eng- 
lish and American reports show that five per cent of all deaths 
result from zymotic diseases, wholly preventable by sanitary 
measures. The subject of ventilation is. therefore very 
closely allied to that of figure development, because fresh 
air and exercise are absolutely essential to the proper 
growth of every human being. 

The air we breathe is composed of twenty - one parts of 
oxygen and seventy - nine of nitrogen. An adult in repose 
inhales eighteen or twenty times a minute; at each respira- 
tion the air loses about one fifth of its oxygen. Twenty 
cubic inches of air is the average amount drawn into the 
lungs at each breath, and about one inch is absorbed. Each 
person therefore requires three hundred and fifty cubic feet 
of air every twenty - four hours. The air expelled from the 
lungs contains about four per cent, of carbonic acid, so that 
in twenty -four hours an adult eliminates fourteen cubic 
feet of carbonic acid, or a trifle less than a cubic inch a 



56 DE LA BANTA's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

minute. The quantity of oxygen absorbed by the lungs of 
a healthy person in twenty -four hours is seventeen and 
one half cubic feet, weighing about one and a fourth 
pounds avoirdupois, and the weight of the carbonic acid 
exhaled in the same time is a little over one and a half 
pounds. Watery vapor is discharged to the extent of one 
pound in the same time from the lungs. These estimates 
are based on an averaged sized man in health and a passive 
condition. They will not be found to vary much in women 
in like condition, but are increased in proportion to the 
amount of exertion,, 

Regular systematic exercise of the whole body is more 
healthful and conserves all the parts more perfectly than 
exercise of particular limbs. It should be the study of all, 
then, to exercise intelligently. One of the very best exer- 
cises is walking. This may be performed as if it were an 
unpleasant duty; but little good results from such exertion 
compared with a walk, brisk at times, over the hills, or 
through the parks, in the bright morning sunshine, watch- 
ing- the birds, or seeking- the choicest flowers. Such exer- 
cise brings into play the mental faculties with the physical ; 
the blood bounds with renewed vigor, and the whole being 
is still further vitalized by the element of pleasure enter- 
ing into it. The soul grows and strengthens as well as the 
body, and thus in time comes a rich reward. 

I would advise that all exercise have in it some motive 
apart from the bare exertion; that it be moderate and agree- 
able, always in fresh air, and of such nature as to call 
into action the greatest portion of the body, and also to 
employ the mental faculties. 




SKATING, (Healthful Winter Exercise). 

56 



CALISTHENICS. 57 



CALISTHENICS. 

The advice I have to offer in regard to calisthenics may 
come too late to benefit many who will read this work. 
They must depend upon artificial plumpness and beauty, 
which may be quite as attractive to the eye, but a source 
of considerable trouble and vexation. The person who 
must continually make up reminds one of the lover who 
asked his intended's father if he might take Clara apart for 
a moment. " Certainly," replied the old gentleman, " if 
you know how to put her together again." An illustrated 
paper had, a short time ago, a very amusing sketch of a 
bewildered bridegroom who was undecided whether to sit 
up with the padded shape and other paraphernalia of his 
bride, or to retire with the meager skeleton. 

Judicious use of the bath, with its cleansing of the 
cuticle and its healthy friction, tends to invigorate the 
muscles and tone the system. The regular aid of the 
gymnasium will strengthen and develop the chest, straighten 
the back, improve the shoulders, give grace to the form, 
and a correct style to the walk. 

The ancient Greeks divided their gymnastic exercises 
into three kinds: the first for the training of soldiers, the 
second for athletes and participants in the Olympic and 
Isthmian games, and the last for women and children. 
They sought to combine health, harmonious proportions of 
the figure, and beauty. 

If we compare modern ideas and systems with those of 
the Greeks, we fear the ancient pagans would carry off the 
prize. Their youth were schooled in varied physical exer- 
5 



58 DE LA BAXTa's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

cises, and were taught to regard the laurel crown won at 
the public games as more to be desired than the golden 
circlet of the proudest monarch on earth. The practice in 
the gymnasium composed an important part of their educa- 
tion. A good body was deemed essential to a sound mind: 
and while the former was developed, the latter was not 
neglected, but at intervals Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and 
other philosophers lectured as the pupils rested from their 
practice. We may readily see, therefore, that when were 
added to rare physical culture, judicious study in oratory, 
philosophy, poetry, music, painting and sculpture, little was 
wanting to complete the physical and mental being, and 
produce — what was no doubt an actual fact — the grandest 
race the world ever saw. Where have existed the peers of 
the philosophers just named, of Demosthenes, of the 
sculptors and painters whose works mold our very concep- 
tions of beauty, and will forever, as in the past, afford 
models for artists? Have those beautiful women whose 
charms are still sung and portrayed been rivaled? They 
were not myths, all of them, any more than were Hesiod 
and Homer. Women shared in the contests and honors, 
and afforded brilliant examples of splendid physical cul- 
ture. 

Many features of the gymnasium have been introduced 
into our schools, but they have not become popular. Prizes 
are offered to excite emulation, but it is the mental powers 
which are stimulated at the expense of the physical, thus 
robbing the foundation that the walls may be adorned 
finely. 

The fact is, we have been working on wrong principles: 
we have undertaken to ignore the animal for the spiritual, 



CALISTHENICS. 59 

the material for the mental, when nature intended they 
should be united; we have unfitted people for the enjoy- 
ment of life, to satisfy a vain and unprofitable ambition; 
for after all few of these hot - house plants have done any- 
thing to compensate their friends or themselves for the 
eiforts they have made. Everybody ought to know that to 
place children in a badly ventilated school -room for six 
hours a day, away from the sunshine, fresh air and exercise, 
cramming them with book lore, is not the way to secure 
sound minds in sound bodies. Yet this is done just at that 
period in life when the body is developing and becoming 
fitted for the duties of the future. The ignorant and ill- 
bred grow vigorously; but they lack refinement. What is 
wanted is a system of education which, while giving to the 
mind the required culture, will secure for the body the best 
growth. To accomplish this it is only needed to introduce 
into schools the simplest appliances of the gymnasium, for 
that exercise which develops the whole body equally is 
what is required, and this is confined to very primitive 
methods. 

In connection with these there should be more open air 
exercise and fewer hours of indoor study. Personal clean- 
liness and a scrupulous adherence to hygienic rules should 
be enforced. This is but a hint of course, but it suggests 
nothing that is not practical and based on common sense. 
Girls suffer more than boys from the false ideas so preva- 
lent. While boys play and "make the echoes ring," the 
girls, in deference to the prejudices of conventionalism, are 
restrained from romping and taking the exercise in play to 
which their natures prompt them. Their costume is calcu- 
lated somewhat to restrain the free action of the body. 



60 

They are also carefully taught that they must be ladies, 
and their first and highest ambition is to get into long 
dresses. This is all a mistake. Worse than a mistake: it 
is a crime, for which parents and teachers are indictable at 
the bar of common sense. 

A word now as to exercise and its relations to develop- 
ment. In the first place, the normal state of the body is 
such that each portion bears a harmonious relation to the 
other, at least in function if not always in proportion. If 
there be a departure from this condition it is the penalty of 
Nature's violated laws. 

Physical training seems unfortunately to suggest the 
prize ring or public display by professional athletes; and 
mention of the gymnasium calls to the mind a system of 
ladders, horizontal bars, clubs, and other paraphernalia, at 
very thought of which the lady of delicate sensibilities is 
inclined to shrink. However, she should not fail to remem- 
ber that very simple exercise, more intelligently followed, 
may result in as perfect development as is possible with 
the multifarious appliances of the trainer, so far as health 
and beauty are concerned. 

In fact, as we come to understand the processes of waste 
and repair, always active in the system, and the inaccessi- 
bility of the well appointed gymnasium to many, simpler 
forms recommend themselves and are found to answer 
every purpose. I do not wish to be understood as under- 
valuing gymnastics, but seek simply to disabuse the public 
mind of the impression that the gymnasium is absolutely 
essential to proper physical training. It is an established 
fact that grace or perfect symmetry is seldom associated 
with extreme muscular development in man, and still less 



CALISTHENICS, 61 

frequently in woman. The principal reasons why gymnas- 
tic exercises have not been more popular are : 1st. They 
have been erroneously considered the only exercises that 
wore of much value. 2d. They demand much time and 
work, too violent for most people and not at all calculated 
for girls. 3d. "When followed up, the gain is in muscle 
rather than symmetry, and in strength rather than in 
grace. 4th. When neglected, the reaction upon health and 
figure is injurious. 5th. Even were the gymnasium jnade 
accessible to all, few would persistently and intelligently 
use it, especially among women, and those who should do 
so would not realize the benefits expected. The value of 
certain simple forms of exercise available at all times and 
in all places, pursued as a pleasure rather than perfunctorily, 
with fresh air and good food not overlooked, has not been 
sufficiently considered. It is these I would urge upon 
ladies, in the firm conviction that they alone will secure 
them health and beauty of figure. When we make 
such exercise general we will have fewer feminine 
infirmities. Movements such as those recommended in 
subsequent pages are designed to call into action all the 
muscles to such extent as they go to make up the perfect 
body; these movements are moderate, cause a wonderful 
and rapid -development, send the blood bounding through 
the system, harden the flesh, expand the lungs, render all 
motion graceful by preserving the suppleness of the joints 
and tendons, and impart the utmost vigor to all the organs. 
" It is the proud distinction of man to walk upright." In 
just so far as he abandons this privilege he descends 
toward either the brutes or a condition of debility. Ani- 
mals that creep are creeping in instinct; those that skulk 



62 de la ba_nta's advice to ladies. 

are born to skulk: they that sneak have the nature of 
sneaks. Xo dissembling can conceal these characteristics; 
they will betray themselves, wherever they exist, in expres- 
sion or movement. As everv ennobling human instinct 
stamps itself on the exterior of the individual, molding 
the figure to uprightness and the walk and manner to 
decision and rectitude, just so the debasing qualities bend 
and pull toward the earth till their victims seem unable to 
look . the world square in the face. This is the moral 
aspect. Physically, we associate the stooping figure with 
age and infirmity. In every sense auy deviation from 
uprightness is destructive of beauty. The first essential to 
an erect figure, therefore, is a correct moral basis, which it 
is the duty of every one to establish; next, to obey so far 
as possible tho laws of health. Physical and moral training 
can not begin too early: and parents and teachers should 
attend to it until youth are able to appreciate its advan- 
tages. The form is then plastic, combining grace and flexi- 
bilitv with a perfect mold, and is without the stiffness too 
often resulting from training and causing one to appear, 
as some express it, painfully straight. Girls, during the 
earlier stages of development especially, suffer from lassi- 
tude and weakness of the muscles of the back, which 
require careful attention until the whole body is finally 
molded. It is between the ages of eleven and twenty 
that the figures of most women are ruined, and the great 
majority of the female diseases of which I have previously 
spoken are contracted. 

But it is "never too late to mend." Those who are 
relaxed or stooping in figure may become gracefully 
strais;ht by reasonable effort and perseverance in well 



CALISTHENICS. (53 

doing. W^Ctich yourselves continually; when out of plumb 
straighten up, and in a week or so you will not make a 
wrong movement without detecting yourselves in the act. 
Your shoulders may have grown "round," or the lungs 
be weak and the chest sunken, and the effort may cause 
pain ; but persevere. Follow the treatment prescribed 
under the headings "Shoulders" and "Chest," found in a 
succeeding chapter, and do not neglect general exercise. 
Note particularly your recumbent positions, those you are 
inclined to assume when sleeping. Vary these so that all 
the organs may have equal opportunity for development. 
You may be suffering from prostration of the nervous sys- 
tem, or relaxation of the muscles, which may render such 
effort difficult. Whatever the condition, exercise must be 
the chief remedy, together with fresh air and good food. 
It is now universally conceded that there is no single exer- 
cise that brings into play so many different muscles, or that 
acts so beneficially upon such a variety of organs, includ- 
ing those of circulation and digestion, as walking. This 
may be brisk at times, and again moderate, but should 
have an object other than mere exercise. Let it be a stroll 
with a lover at sunrise — if he can be gotten out so early — 
a romp with the children before eight, through the park or 
out on the lawn; a ramble through meadows or the woods, 
or over the hills — "to the poor-house." Run, leap, play; 
be yourself at least for a brief hour. If you were com- 
pelled when a child to forego the privileges and benefits of 
childhood, go back to them now, whether you are thirty or 
fifty; laugh in the face of reserve and dignity. Your head 
and heart, perhaps your liver, have been taxed long 
enough; give them a rest, and your legs a chance. 



6 J- DE LA BAUTA'S ADVICE TO LADIE-. 

Rowing is higrhlv beneficial exercise: swimming also. 
Avail yourself of every possible opportunity to get on or in 
the water: not in a zinc coffin, as Dr. O'Leary denominates 
the bath tub, but out on the pond or river, where you can 
breathe the fresh air. laden with perfume and vitalized by 
oxygen. Climbing is well suited to develop the limbs. 
Exercise until you perspire freely. Winter or Summer, 
take some exercise calling into action all the muscles and 
members of the body. If a gymnasium appropriate for 
ladies be convenient, avail yourself of it; but steady appli- 
cation to simple methods that are accessible at all times 
and places will accomplish the desired results. It would 
be well to have, in the yard or a loft, a cross - bar erected, 
a perpendicular pole from floor to ceiling, and a rope sus- 
pended from the ceiling for climbing: also parallel bars, a 
swing and other simple fixtures that may be erected by 
anybody and are the main features of the gymnasium. 
Working in the garden or among the flowers, raking" the 
leaves from the lawn, hoeing, sweeping, pitching quoits, 
playing ball, are all exercises as beneficial as those of the 
gymnasium. 

■•How ludicrous,*' one observes, "I. the belle of Mistle- 
toe Avenue, playing such pranks ! Xo : I prefer elegant 
repose, reclining upon my fauteuil, or in mv carriage. Xo 
indeed ! what unladylike proceedings. The horrid sun 
shall not stamp its plebeian bronze upon my delicate face.** 
Ah! my dear madame. craving your pardon, really I was 
not addressing you. I had no thought of shocking with 
ideas of ruddy health one who to all appearance is soon to 
"be an angel and with the angels stand;"* no, your evident 
willingness to die young disposes me to believe you too 



— 



— 
- 



- 
- 




CALISTHENICS. 65 

good for earth. My remarks are for those who enjoy 
health and wish to live. On such the very simple but 
varied exercises I have mentioned will act wonderfully in 
toning up the body and strengthening it for the special 
methods it may be desired to employ. Good food, well 
cooked, is another item of material consequence. For the 
best methods of walking, rules are given in another place. 
Leaping and running are exercises better adapted to girls 
at an early age than afterward. At a later stage of growth 
they are unfitted for the ruder sports of childhood. Running 
may be moderately indulged in to advantage by ladies, but 
it is not a favorite exercise, although with the Greeks the 
maidens ran and wrestled naked in the arena. Even girls 
never excel in speed, and are more liable to fall than 
boys. One author says, "Women run merely to be pur- 
sued and caught." I would advise women to indulge in no 
exercise more severe than a pleasant romp, and to make 
most of it consist in brisk and agreeable walking. Swim- 
ming, as means of physical culture, is one of the very best 
and most health -giving. The Athenians were wont to say 
of a man when pronouncing him worthless : " He can not 
even swim." Jacques says: "In fact, we consider it to 
be, within the range of its application, one of the most 
efficient of bodily exercises. Its free and graceful move- 
ments give healthful action to the muscles; the contact 
with the animate waves, so full of magnetic virtue, which 
it involves, refreshes and invigorates the body; and the 
conquest of a new element which it secures dilates the 
whole being with a sense of triumph and power." Accord- 
ing to tradition, "Beauty, the mother of Love, is the 
daughter of the waves and of light." At which the 



66 DE LA BAXTa's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

author quoted says: ;; Water and sunshine still acknowl- 
edge the relationship, and the fairest forms grow fairer still 
in the loving embrace of the limpid element. The 
maidens of the Pacific Islands swim like water nymphs; 
so do the Italian. Mexican and South American women, 
and many others."' I earnestly urge my lady readers not 
to pass these suggestions by lightly. 

Skating calls into action nearly all the muscles, and is a 
trulv graceful and exhilarating* exercise. Just now, how- 
ever, its popularity is at a low ebb: but this need not in- 
terfere with individual freedom, and many ladies still enjoy 
the sport. In Holland all the women, from the decrepit 
crone to the lively girl of half a dozen snows, glide grace- 
fullv along* on skates during* the Ions: Winters that hold the 
watery thoroughfares in their icy grasp. I wonder that so 
fascinating and graceful an exercise as parlor skating is 
not more indulg*ed in. I think were ladies to learn to use 
these wheeled runners and discover what graceful, gliding 
fig*ures may be performed in an ordinary room upon them, 
they would become more popular. 

Dancing- has much to recommend it. It has an advantage 
over walking in being of quicker and lighter movement, 
diversified by numerous attitudes demanding; g*race and the 
very "poetry of motion."' As a light, pleasing, exhilarat- 
ing exercise, furnishing agreeable opportunities for the 
commingling* of the sexes, and calculated to increase the 
circulation and limber the joints. I advise that dancing be 
indulged in to a reasonable and moderate extent. Even 
the bodily contortions and posturing witnessed on the 
stag-e mig*ht be found a grood morning- exercise after the 
bath. But let the performance be in the seclusion of your 



CALISTHENICS. 67 

private apartments. Of modes of dancing there is but 
little choice, save concerning the old-fashioned waltz, 
which must be condemned, as the rapid and continuous 
whirling causes the blood to center in the brain, the lungs, 
and heart, sometimes causing serious congestion in those 
organs. The reverse, however, recently introduced into 
the waltz is not only graceful, but entirely obviates the 
objections to this favorite dance. 

The exercises named, while they are properly gymnastic, 
are not those generally understood as embodied in the 
practice of the ordinary gymnasium, except those with the 
bars, etc. But I have endeavored to lay down a prac- 
tical system suited to all and accessible to all, which 
personal experience and observation enable me to pro- 
nounce the very best for securing health, physical develop- 
ment, beauty and grace. 

I have dwelt upon these general exercises, it will be 
observed, before having more than merely suggested the 
methods of shaping the body. I desire to carry them 
along, keep them in mind, and recapitulate their important 
features as we pass to the consideration of the separate 
parts of the body in detail. 

The idea is to set all remedial agents at work simulta- 
neously; thus, while, by mere patience and watchfulness, or 
by artificial aids, we are seeking to remedy imperfections 
of figure, the blood is being purified, the vital organs are 
strengthened, and the entire body gains firmness, purity, 
freshness and beauty. 



68 DE LA BANTA's ADVICE TO LADIES. 



DIRECT METHODS. 

It is the law of formation that the development of any part of the 
body is in direct proportion to the vital currents which, by means of 
exercise, are brought to bear upon it.— Theophile Gatjtier. 

There is in human nature a continual striving to get 
something for nothing; but all law, both human and nat- 
ural, decides against the idea of procuring any thing of 
value without some effort or equivalent. Learning does 
not come without study. Position, wealth, fame are 
achieved only by earnest and persistent effort. There is no 
elixir of life that can at a draught bring what you desire, 
youth, beauty and love, the glowing advertisements of nos- 
trum venders to the contrary notwithstanding. When the 
philosopher's stone or the fountain of perpetual youth is 
found, possibly this may be realized also. There is how- 
ever a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and she who 
will walk to it, or attempt it, will find the rarer charms she 
seeks — vigor, health, genial spirits, a pure complexion, lithe 
shapely limbs, a buoyant symmetrical body full of a better 
life than she ever knew, and all crowned with beauty. The 
route is not direct, but allows one to wander around near 
home and keep an eye on the lover, husband, babies, or 
gossip of the neighborhood. This is simple truth that all 
thinking men and women, physicians and scientists will 
bear me out in. Walk a mile or two and return each morn- 
ing, say at six or seven o'clock, and you will soon learn 
the facts for yourselves. 

Walking, however, is only one among many methods of 
taking exercise. Others are indicated in the following 



DIRECT METHODS. 09 

pages. There is a course to be pursued which will apply, 
with some variations, to nearly every woman in existence. 
We will suppose a lady places herself in my hands, with 
instructions to make her as perfect as her peculiar form and 
features will permit. It is not necessary to ask her trouble: 
she betrays languor, is emaciated and a physical wreck; 
her hair comes out; her ears, lips and cheeks are colorless, 
eyes dull, skin bloodless and dry; she has no appetite, 
walks languidly, is melancholy in disposition; her flesh is 
flabby, her chest sunken, her arms bony; in fact, she is a 
poor debilitated creature — one a physician would be likely 
to kill because he would u doctor " her. I look at her and 
see that she is not suffering from any acute or chronic 
affection of any particular organ or part, but is slowly wast- 
ing away from want of the life - giving principles found in 
fresh air, exercise and tonics. My prescription is this: 
You will be called in the morning at six sharp; a servant 
will escort you to the bath. At first you will find the 
water delightfully tempered to your debilitated condition; 
but within a day or so you bear it cold. This shall be a 
shower bath; after which you will be thoroughly dried by 
rubbing until the skin glows. You will then, before dress- 
ing, take the exercise (in part each day), as seen on page 
96, for a half hour after becoming used to it, but a few min- 
utes each day at first. Now you are at once dressed and 
prepared for a walk. This will be lengthened as you 
become accustomed to it until you have walked briskly a 
mile, and perhaps two or three, and return. Upon your 
return at eight o'clock a light breakfast will be served, con- 
sisting of graham rolls, or other bread of unbolted flour, a 
baked potato, a small piece of broiled steak, good butter, a 



70 DE LA BJLNTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

boiled or poached egg, some sliced tomatoes if in season, 
and a cup of coffee or milk — if the former, well sweetened 
and rich with cream. After breakfast you will study, 
read, or amuse yourself for an hour; after which vou 
will do the work belonging to your own apartments, dio- 
in the garden if in Summer, romp and take all manner 
of exercise out doors and in, until eleven. Then yon will 
repair to a south or an east room where the sun streams 
in pleasantly. In the window shall be a sash with alternat- 
ing panes of blue and clear glass according to Gen. Pleas- 
. onton's theory, which I find extremely beneficial for 
almost every ailment, defective beauty not excepted, when 
the result of conditional causes. You will denude vour- 
self entirely and sit with the sun streaming full upon 
you. If you have not the blue glass always in, the plain 
will do. 

On days when the sun does not shine you will take a 
vapor bath after your return home. The most simple man- 
ner of taking this, if you have not proper apparatus, will be 
to sit on a cane - seat chair, an alcohol lamp burning 
beneath, and a heavy comforter, blanket or rubber tarpau- 
lin closely enveloping you, extending to the floor on all 
sides, inclosing the chair and fastened about the neck so 
that the vapor may not escape. This bath should not last 
more than fifteen or twenty minutes. Proper appurten- 
ances, of course, are better when convenient. However, as 
you read concerning baths where this book treats of them, 
you may vary them somewhat, but under no circumstances 
are you to neglect the sun bath each day when possible to 
take it. Once each week you will bathe in milk; once in 
oil, as directed in remarks on baths. You will avoid all cold 



DIRECT METHODS. 71 

baths save the shower bath as prescribed on arising, and 
the Russian, which will be found excellent occasionally. 
All other baths must be tepid. The sun bath may be 
indulged in from a half hour to an hour. During this you 
may occupy yourself in brushing your hair thoroughly with 
a stiff brush — a wire brush is best when the hair is thick. 
Do this well each day; some of the washes found among 
the recipes for the hair may be used, after which do the 
hair up lightly. You may also, during this and the follow- 
ing half hour, arrange your toilet for dinner preparatory to 
dressing. You will first bathe the face in a preparation of 
rain - water, one quart; ammonia, one teaspoonful; or a citric 
acid wash as follows: Lemon juice, a glass full; otto of 
roses, a few drops; rain-water, one pint. You will also 
vary this by the recipes for the complexion and skin, as you 
find the nature of your skin requires. You may then, 
while the face is yet moist, with a puff apply very lightly 
some simple powder, violet or other, as best suits your 
complexion. Perhaps, as your skin is rather dry, you had 
better use some of the liquids containing benzoin, balsam 
of Peru, or tolu. As you are not seeing much company, I 
shall permit only the simplest artificial aids. You may rub 
the cheeks with a crash towel and the lips with a tooth- 
brush to elicit color. As your eyes are looking dull, you 
may dash a little soap and water in them, and touch the 
brows lightly with a soft pencil or stick of Egyptian black, 
but they must not be made darker than the hair. Before 
dressing eat a teaspoonful of French or pulverized charcoal 
in milk or honey. After having tipped the nails in a 
preparation found in the recipes for the nails, and polished 
them slightly, you will dress for dinner. 
6 



72 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

This should be a substantial meal, served at one o'clock, 
including rich soup — barley, rice or vermicelli; juicy roasts 
to your choice; vegetables of any kind; dessert of the 
richest quality, with sweet sauces. You will, however 
avoid all acids, which destroy the fat and thin the blood. 
Pastry to your taste; a glass of milk, or good ale if you 
are accustomed to it, and coffee with dessert if desired. 
At all times you are advised to drink milk in preference to 
water. 

You may now have the afternoon until four o'clock in 
which to receive calls, sleep, read, or pass the time as 
you choose. At four you will dress for a drive each day 
when pleasant. In a bad, damp, or raw atmosphere, when 
exposed to the air, you will wear a veil ; in the sun, how- 
ever, you will discard it, as the sun will give you a good 
color. 

You may do your shopping and make a few brief calls 
during the drive if you choose; but will return at six, in 
time for tea. 

This meal should consist of broiled steak and cold meats, 
or boned fowl and sauces; light cold bread, baked potatoes, 
fruit and preserves, and light pastry, with tea. Of course, in 
all matters of diet the aim is to eat heartily of all food you 
desire that is suitable to your condition; and the menu 
should be changed each day to afford variety. You will be 
required to entertain at least one evening during each week, 
and be entertained one evening or more. Participation in 
these social gatherings, however, should be subject some- 
what to your tastes and previous habits. Company retires 
at half- past nine, and you will be expected to repair to 
your room at once. You will disrobe, take down your hair, 




RAPHAEL'S FIRST HOUR OF NIGHT, (Model Head). 

72 



DIRECT METHODS 73 

comb it out and brush the scalp thoroughly, and bathe your 
face in tepid water as before directed, after which dry well 
and anoint with cold cream or some of the preparations for 
the skin given in the recipes. Three or four nights of the 
week you will sleep with a paste mask upon the face (see 
recipes for skin), and also prepare the arms as directed. 
You will place the hands in mittens in which is put wet 
bran, and tie them firmly about the wrist; or wear cosmetic 
gloves as mentioned in recipes for the hands. These 
matters are to be attended to the last thing before retiring. 
You will also thoroughly brush the teeth and rinse the 
mouth. 

As I require you to eat more or less charcoal each day, 
to supply the blood with carbon and improve your com- 
plexion, you will take some mild purgative three nights of 
the week, to work this out of the system, as the mass of 
putrid matter which it collects from the blood in its passage 
through the system is not eliminated through the pores or 
other channels. Upon retiring you will drink a glass of 
milk, and if hungry, take an apple, or an orange sliced in 
sugar, also a piece of cake, as the stomach should not remain 
empty. You will also bathe the breasts well with cold 
water, ammonia and vinegar, and use the developer men- 
tioned in the chapter on treatment of the bust. You will 
sleep on a spring bed and with the least amount of pillow 
possible: if with none all the better. Lie on the back and 
right side mostly, but change position to the left often. 
The window should be down from the top, to admit fresh 
air. Sleep with the mouth closed. 

T have now sketched in outline your daily pursuits. 
Should you require more sleep it must be taken after noon. 



74 DE LA BAJTEa's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

You must rise at six invariably. If other ailments than 
those mentioned afflict you, you will find time durincr the 
day to treat them as prescribed in subsequent pages. Par- 
ticular affections, such as leanness, or a bad skin and com- 
plexion, require particular and local treatment. I have not 
detailed art devices and cosmetic formulas in this place, 
as they will be found minutely explained in subsequent 
pages. It will not be long before you will return from 
your morning walk nimble as a fawn, your cheeks aglow. 
and with a good appetite. Your eyes will snap; the figure 
have become erect, the limbs flexible, the skin mois:. 
fresh and smooth; the breasts will have regained the 
shapely swell that ever gives a matchless beauty to the 
figure of a woman; the hair will display its natural gl- 
and wave, and your arms be those of a Venus: but to 
secure this you must exercise them. The same with the 
less. Don't be afraid to dance the Highland flinor, kick 
a la Soldene, and indulge in the utmost abandon when 
seclusion and opportunity permit. 

But all ladies are not in the hands of a trainer. If they 
did but think so, they could dispense with his assistance. 
What women want is — determination and energy. Any 
lady, in any position, I care not what, may make herself jnsi 
what she will if she have these qualities. Let her make up 
her mind to follow a course; if necessary make it a life 
duty; and begin at once. She will be amply repaid, and 
that sooner than she anticipates. 



THE HEAD. 75 



THE HEAD 



The ancients believed the stomach to be the seat of intel- 
ligence; but modern science demonstrates that the brain is 
the temple of the mind, the organ of thought; though a 
leading New York physician has recently advanced the 
theory, and adduced cogent reasons to sustain it, that the 
spinal cord, and, in a less degree, the whole nervous system, 
contribute to mental processes. 

Yet the value of a good physique, with a stomach capable 
of ministering to its needs, must not be overlooked. Sen- 
ator Benton was favored with a deep chest, broad shoulders, 
and ample stomach, but had the worst shaped head in the 
United States Senate. It has been said that he owed as 
much to his well developed chest and stomach as to his 
brain for his position and fame. Many facts are adducible 
to prove that the size of the head is no certain indication 
of mental power, and that brilliant men and women have 
been unfortunate in having small and ill -shaped heads. 
Emerson's head is decidedly inferior to the ideal. 

Women have smaller heads than men in proportion 
to height, but who shall say they are not men's equals 
in point of intelligence when accorded equal oppor- 
tunities? 

With the brain or its functions, - however, I have nothing 
to do, only in so far as it affects the exterior shape and 
expression. It often occurs that circumstances in early 
life conspire to shape the head. In infancy the skull is 
quite plastic, and causes both internal and external, as 



76 DE LA BAXTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

disease or habit, frequently tend to abnormal development. 
One hemisphere of the brain sometimes exceeds the other 
in size, destroying the symmetry. 

It is well known that certain tribes of Indians flatten the 
skull and others produce anterior development by posterior 
compression. I refer to these facts that parents may be on 
their guard, for it is impossible to correct such de- 
formity in adults, and it must therefore remain a blot 
on beauty, unless it can be concealed, which is ex- 
tremely difficult even with our modern license in styles 
of coiffure. 

The contour of the head, according to classical propor- 
tion, should present nearly an oval from a front or back 
view; also from above looking down. I say nearly oval, 
the superior portion, however, should be most developed, 
tapering gradually to a delicate point at the chin, which 
imparts a pyriform or pear shaped appearance to the gen- 
eral outline of the head and face. From the forehead to 
the extreme posterior portion of the skull should be the 
greatest diameter; from one temple to the other the least. 
The height of the head should be nearly one eighth that 
of the person. A low, broad forehead has been considered 
a mark of beauty, but classical dictum makes its height 
equal exactly the length of the nose and one third that of 
the whole face. I have selected as a model head, in which 
all the points may be observed (see page 72), Raphael's 
" First Hour of Night," which I consider the finest ideal 
head art has given us. We should not judge the forehead 
by the line of hair, as this not seldom encroaches on the 
forehead proper, without bad effect in some cases, but in 
others spoiling the expression and giving the appearance 



THE HEAD. 77 

i)t* inferiority where such an effect is produced. This is 
undesirable, and the hair should be patiently removed with 
tweezers or by some depilatory. 

Artistically, the head is susceptible of vast improvement. 
The various modes of arranging the hair give ladies a 
great advantage over men. Perhaps the natural shape of 
the head will interest ladies less on this account. We 
must, then, strive to arrange the hair in the style demanded 
by the contour of the head and the expression of the 
features. The more elaborate and tasteful the costume 
and the finer the points of figure, the more necessary does 
this become to avoid unpleasant contrasts. A grave fault 
is that of persistently adhering to the "latest fashion." It 
is to afford relief in this respect that so much license is 
allowed, nearly every one being permitted to select a style 
according to fancy. Arbitrary adherence to prevailing 
modes, without regard to taste, is the bane of feminine 
fashion, as there are not more than one out of every hund- 
red whom the extreme of the mode will exactly suit. To 
adhere strictly therefore to the constantly changing fash- 
ions in wearing the hair is to very often create the very 
effects artificially, you ought and have endeavored to avoid 
as natural blemishes. Any amount of study and skill may 
be expended upon this phase of the human make-up, and 
with good results; therefore the most appropriate designs, 
those best suited to a particular style of beauty and shape 
of head without wholly ignoring the fashion, should be 
studied. As before remarked, a low forehead is considered 
best suited to all types of beauty. Those methods of 
coiffure, however, displaying a high forehead, as the Pom- 
padour, are suited to ladies of a certain age, and are 



T^ DE LA BAHTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

especially becoming to gray hair. The Greek coiffure is 
thus described by a competent authority: 

The front hair is in waved bandeaux, low over the brow, with a 
few short curls or crece cceur locks on the forehead and temples; 
a round chignon of coques and braids, from which drop a few short 
curls. This chignon is handed across the middle with a ribbon or 
golden band, and another band is placed over the bandeaux in front. 

This is best adapted to the small delicate features of the 
Grecian face. It is well suited to others when the head is 
of medium size and the features not pronounced. But dis- 
cretion must be employed; and in using braids, curls, 
crimps, frizzettes, rolls, puffs, bands, waves and other 
devices, some of which invariably enter into the composi- 
tion of the elaborate coiffure, we must take into account 
the shape and dimensions of the face, the forehead, the 
brows, proportionate height and width of the head, size and 
set of the ears and the stvle and lena-th of the neck. To 
counteract the effect of a large face, a profusion of frizzettes 
should be artistically displayed on the forehead, with a 
moderate array of braids, arranging the hair high, with 
pendent curls at the back, visible from the front, thus tend- 
ing to contract the outlines of the face by harmonious 
shaping of the general contour. A narrow face demands 
that puffings or crimps be employed at the sides, with a 
judicious arrangement of masses in front, smooth or nearly 
so at the top, omitting pendent curls. It requires artistic 
skill to give the proper contour and bring out the desired 
effects. An excellent effect is the result of clustering ring- 
lets or fleecy puffs about the temples and ears. The beauty 
of some lies in abandoning the tresses to their own way- 
wardness, or in not conforming to any particular design. 



THE FACE. 79 

This is a habit with Miss Anna Dickinson, whose way of 
disposing of rebellious locks by jauntily tossing them back, 
always won the admiration of the writer. 

But I should be untrue to the interests of many good 
innocent souls and fail of the gratitude of all well regu- 
lated people if I did not enter my earnest protest against 
long Miss Nancy curls down the back and extending from 
temple to temple around the head; also those cork-screw 
affairs some are afflicted with. If of such are the kino-dom 
of heaven I desire an abode "in some vast wilderness." I 
am happy to say the world's supply of this article is pro- 
duced wholly in Boston. 

Nature never fails to harmonize the color of the hair 
with the features, and to have recourse to .dyes or bleachers, 
unless to restore the original color, results disastrously to 
real beauty and is repugnant to good taste. With public 
characters, actresses, etc., who desire to present a striking 
contrast to those about them, or who depend rather upon 
their conspicuous appearance than upon merit, this may be 
pardonable. Ladies, however, who would display good 
taste and a congruous ensemble will avoid all such outre 
disfigurements. 



THE FACE. 

On the face dwells I know not what that charms and attracts us. 
We admire a pretty foot, are struck by an elegant waist. A well 
made arm, a pretty hand captivates our attention ; but we are never 
so strongly attracted by any part of the body as by the face. All 
other organs bear a general resemblance, but in the face there is a 
vast difference ; each countenance has its particular type of beauty. — 
Cazenave. 



DE LA EAXTa's ADVICE TO LADIZ-. 

The face is the tablet upon which is written a record of 
the life. Conceal the face, and while the physiologist may 
divine the temperament and general characteristics, the 
delicate impress of the thoughts and emotions, the pen- 
ciled touch of a smiling joy, the angled furrow of a 
withering sorrow, the forced smirk of design, or the meek 
lines of piety afford no signs of character to warn or win. 
It is this photographing of internal emotions that distin- 
guishes the face from other features of the body. To the 
face alone beauty of form is not the sole requisite. Regu- 
larity and harmony of feature are needed to begin with, 
but the highest beauty is that imparted by the intellectual 
qualities lighting up the lineaments with a finer grace. It 
is the duty of the individual to render the face pleasing. 
To this end mental culture, congenial occupation, a con- 
tented disposition, etc., are requisite, while proper care 
must be taken of the external features. It is in this direc- 
tion that art may be employed to advantage, preserving the 
- mblance, if not the reality, of purity, color and freshne — . 
while intellectual refinement must depend upon studv and 
thought. The visage may be clear-cut and of classical 
proportions, yet have only the beauty of a statue, because 
wanting soul to irradiate it. Again a mystical sweetn— 
may win us to her upon whom is the seal of misfortune and 
no trace of beauty's hand. Another, infinitely unfortuna:-. 
has nothing to attract in quality of heart, mind or visa_ 
1 et again is found the perfect combination of beautv of 
face and charm of soul, toward whom we are attracted as 
bv a resistless magnetism. 

If you discover that your face is not molded according 
to harmonious proportion, do not despair. Remember you 




MISS R , (Cheerful Expression). 

80 



THE FACE. 81 

have many opportunities to wonderfully improve your 
features and expression. The resources of chemistry are 
ever at your hand, but a better art is that which tends to 
invigorate the body by healthful exercise and elevate the 
mind by intellectual recreations. It is only by mental and 
physical culture that true beauty may be created or main- 
tained. 

As will be observed by reference to the representative 
types of different nationalities in the accompanying illus- 
trations, varied conditions of climate, labor, habits of life 
and thought, produce varied and distinctive characteristics 
in people. This, however, does not vary the standard of 
physical beauty, which remains the same the world over, 
w T hatever the habits, education or influence. The Grecian 
models embody this ideal, and the nations most advanced 
in civilization approximate most nearly to it — the Ameri- 
cans, French, English, Germans, Russians, Italians and 
Spaniards. Choosing from these, the first, into which is 
merged to some extent all the others, stands to - day in per- 
fection of type, according to classic mold, far in the van 
of nations. I refer to the type, but individuals display 
degrees of variance from the perfect, and it is this variation 
we seek to correct. We have no authority for supposing 
that any greater perfection was the rule in preceding ages. 
The models handed down in stone were doubtless made as 
was the portrait of the beautiful Helen, in painting which 
Zeuxis took as models a number of beautiful women, 
choosing from each that part nearest his ideal of perfection. 
Who shall say that the human figure may not attain to that 
harmonious and beautiful proportion in reality? Still the 
painful fact comes home to us that we are suffering for the 



JUL mj&n A '- JfKE T® ¥JMHnHSL 




-i :-t .t 
: :' : : :."; : . lzt 
:: :- :.:.:_.i:. : 
. ~ : •: rzhz.z :... 

::L"7j ::' :_t t.i: : : "_t ::•:"- ::' :ir ~tt 
put <sff the ^gifier jaw, 
;:: i.r:r:: -:.-:•!.; rom :: .l- ::-:^i t: t>.t ::■::- 
:: -_r .77-: :i : ..-: :-.. -_.-:- tjjtJ -.-•:•--..: --■-■- : •::' l: 
:\^.:." :::.- :: ir .: - = :.l.Ht-i ::•: :it z::>?- ::-t1:t:; 
:•-■-- -_- ■. :. ^.t :i - : : :":._ ~ : -_ : ... >r t^itt-zt^ '__--_. 
the rapper pontaom ®if the ifiaoe a^pnixionarr- 
lore mitm tfhe fom» Hue Greets in-posited. stiDDL 
wineafifisr maaftjjf^ity to ItBae Unpads «sff tdbeir gods H~y 

ZlLi '. '. rTJ .-^:tt?. "It _lr ; t " ^ tII::.;' 1" 

- :. t - - ...;.. t- il~t '.'fri i: V-1t_ "_.:_ .rTcnii^i 'i-* 
: :it :-:t:-.. ::l-.. ::.t:t - zri -^— ^ '-■- '---'■ r. ■ 
:i:-. : ~:~ : :' : - : : t-s ii. . :..~. :_.".. - .". l= zij r-ri~iL:±i; 
:.1t ItI : r-: -; si :- :.:•: : .:. : : i :V. :-Li. : - -> : -.-..I :_ : - - 
prat uipsani Iftuss ttibsninr- ^ e~fgiisWfess, tiSae Ifaw-aawB arable 
:t:'t"t ■ '. :: := Lti:t = : ::t ::-::-:-_::. :■: :::..::.: "-.:-: 
B-^osmsenuesift--, fey wfbk&i azrttagtte tdtaPGra-gii aM traroe lhanne dhas- 
T.T-: :.:. : :iLi:e: -:.- ii :- irTc—- - ..- .--.::: :,: '■ • - ::..: — 
tines tint of tine moss, srmteasmrinng £nm tflae few*eod at 
:.:. r i.i-_: ' ~l.t tIt:tZ tj ;; i„ T : i._z. _~_i:" :i- it- :. .: 
should presamlt in wornem imeaBidhr am owal ffiraanB. a jfcont viem*. 
Ot.i:t~ l:. .. 7 >r ::' - : 77. : c. ::~l:i l -— . .r_: 



THE FACE. 83 

that the nose be so situated as to divide the face into two 
equal parts; the nose should also approach a straight line 
with the forehead, admitting- possibly of a very slight 
deflection at the junction, as in the profile of Pharaoh's 
daughter, on page 160. This feature should be delicate, 
well defined and straight in itself, suffering neither con- 
vexity nor concavity or, rather, inclining neither to the 
aquiline nor the retrousse. 

And yet the much - abused " pug nose " has not been 
without admirers. A celebrated French beauty had a nose 
with a very decided upward turn, which was converted by 
her admirers into an ornament rather than a blemish; and 
she was overheard one day, when admiring herself in the 
glass — as it is rumored ladies will do — apostrophizing the 
organ — "Ah! there you are — you charming little nez 
retrousse, over which all France has gone wild." 

The mouth should be small in women and expressive; the 
cheeks moderately plump, rosy with health, smooth and 
free from extraneous excrescences. They may admit of 
dimples. The chin is an indication of character as well as 
of beauty: like the nose and mouth, it may be decidedly 
w 7 eak, or coarse, heavy and sensual. It should be sufficiently 
prominent, delicately rounded, white, soft and smooth. 

The face should be covered with sufficient flesh to dis- 
play a succession of delicate curves. The bones are very 
near the surface, hence the necessity that they be sufficiently 
covered to avoid abrupt angles and depressions. Flesh 
should preponderate only to the extent of preserving the 
general grace of outline, lest it obscure the play of the 
muscles and the sensibilities that give expression to the 
features, and impart an unpleasant impression of dullness. 



"- de la bahta's ADVICE IO LADIB& 

A purely passive face may be beautiful, but it is a beauty 
shallow, characterless and insipid — a kind of "Miss 
Xancy " offering at the shrine of love, and usually charac- 
terized by the word doughface. True beauty must indicate 
something back of it. This remark might jar severe h 
tender cords in some breasts, did I not in the same breath 
assert that soul may be lifted to the face. Apathy may be 
dispelled if you will but rouse to the duties of life. If 
you do not see them come to you, go out after them; make 
a career: it will not come to you. Stir your blood and 
your spirits and soon the nobility within you will stamp 
itself upon you. Your face will become a reflex of your 
soul. Study, exercise, work, become cultured, and you will 
be surprised at the physical and mental change which will 
take place. 

EXPRESSION. 

The prevailing tone of the mind will surely stamp itself 
upon the countenance. A morose disposition, melancholy, 
perverseness, the outgrowth of an evil nature, jealousy, 
revenge, hate or anger, griefs pride, happiness, sorrow, fear, 
love, and discontent, one or more of which occupy the mind 
constantly, are chiseling away at the features, stamping 
deeper and deeper their indelible characters upon the face, 
and rendering it attractive or repuls: re. That every pas- 
sion or emotion is connected with a muscle in the face is 
illustrated by scientific experiment. We have but to attach 
one of the poles of the battery to one of the muscles in the 
face of a dead person, and the passion of hate or love, of 
mirth or lust, or grief, will be displayed in ghastly relief. 



EXPRESSION. 85 

There are few who do not have to contend with the most 
undesirable impulses, either from a constitutional ten- 
dency, early formation of character, or the circumstances 
of life. It becomes a duty then to preserve the disposition 
as placid as possible if you would preserve beauty. One 
author says. "Cultivate placidity of expression and rest 
assured that there is no danger of vacancy of countenance. 
On a calm face the passing emotions mirror themselves with 
a pleasing variety, like clouds on the surface of some 
unruffled mere; but with jerking and twitching muscles, 
the emotions are broken and lost, like the reflections of 
those same clouds on a wind - scourged sea." Elsewhere I 
have protested against allowing the desk, easel, counter, 
bench, or any avocation to mold the body. I must repeat 
that protest in relation to the emotions molding the face. 
Let it be susceptible, but not fixed : the continuous smile 
is as unpleasant as the ever-present scowl. Ladies who 
pout at twelve, usually to all appearance pout at twenty 
and upward. 

\Yomen being of livelier sentiments than men, with fea- 
tures finer and less accentuated, greater mobility of phys- 
iognomy and delicacy of the muscles, unwomanly thoughts, 
care, anger, and the baser passions, leave more marked 
traces upon their features. The illustration on page 80 
affords a good idea of cheerful expression. 

Among the lower classes very pronounced types of beauty 
are often met with. At the same time a greater tendency 
to vicious habits, the necessity of labor, and exposure to 
want and debauchery, which are theirs, cause the features 
to lose their grace, and refinement is generally wanting. 
We see therefore how expression mirrors the soul; that 



86 



DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 



it is an index of the emotions, and if beauty exists in spite 
of those emotions, it must be by an exercise of the will; 
else, surrounded as we are continually by the vexations, 
troubles and vicissitudes of our common life, faces of women 
that might well be beautiful must suffer from this ever- 
present foe. It is well that the better phases of thought 
and feeling assert themselves in well regulated people, as 
they conduce to the development of physical charms. An- 
gular or irregular features must retain a certain fixedness, 
but the emotions and their influence may largely distract 
observation from such defects. Therefore study the effect 
of these passions upon others; give loose rein to the cheer- 
ful and good, but check at once disagreeable and unworthy 
thoughts. 

There seems to be a law of assimilation; wives and 
husbands become like each other, not only in ways of 
thinking, but in expression of countenance, just as animals 
gradually assimilate to the color of the earth in which they 
burrow or to the prevailing tone of their surroundings — 
the color often changing to white in Winter, when the 
ground is covered with snow. Climate and other physical 
conditions leave their effect upon the human conformation, 
especially the face. We see the thick lips, olive and dark 
complexion, and the more rounded contour of the tropics; 
the thin lips, more angular features and greater activity 
of the north. The greatest beauty is found in the tem- 
perate zones, where it is neither too hot nor too cold. Geo- 
graphical surroundings, scenery, etc., continually appealing 
to the poetry of the soul, stamp their impress upon the face 
of one whose habitation is there. It is said the fresh beauty 
of English ladies is owing to the beautiful parks and 



EXPRESSION. 87 

scenery met in their daily walks and drives. No stronger 
argument is needed in favor of genial surroundings and 
associations in the formation of expression and feature. 
Much that is ugly in the expression must be attributed to 
bad habits contracted in youth, such as mimicry or what the 
French term tics or contorting the features — "making 
faces," you know, girls. Scowling comes of petulance; 
squinting frequently results from weakness of the eyes. 
Winking with one eye at a lover or both at the sun, " turn- 
ing up the nose," twisting the mouth and other features, 
running out the tongue, or thrusting it in the cheek, wrink- 
ling the forehead, straining the eyes wide open, puckering 
the lips, or pursing the mouth, grimacing, grinning, 
frowning, and wagging the head, surely, but perhaps 
imperceptibly, produce disagreeable results. It seems 
almost needless to admonish any body against such 
practices, but mothers, teachers, and nurses, should 
carefully watch children, and "big girls" should watch 
themselves. (See melancholy expression, page 184.) 

It is extremely seldom that we can not rate the intelli- 
gence by the facial expression and general appearance. 
We have but to compare, for instance, the vacant stare, the 
fatuous features and vigorless movements of an idiot with 
those of a person with a keen, well ordered intellect shining 
out from a finely chiseled face, and an erect figure full of 
character and purpose, to become aware of the differ- 
ence in intellect between the two. 

Another word remains to be said: Beauty of face can not 
coexist with weak nerves. This constitutional infirmity is 
quick to make its presence visible in the face. A right 
method of living, a reasonable adherence to hygiene, some 



DE LA BA>Ta*> ADVICE TO LADIES. 

eff<. ' t self-i f roL plenty of light and exercise are the 
best remedies for this affliction. 

Love is also a wondrous artist in painting beauty on the 
female face. Unless the heart of woman is played upon 
the tender passion, there is a chord missing from the 
music of her life. Nothing so develops one feature of 
beauty as the happy exercise of the affections. Though 
all else fail, be the sculptor of your own statue. 

Still, there are exceptions to this rule. TY~e sometimes, 
if rarelv. -: men who look wiser than man ever could be 
till they open their mouths, when they betray themselves. 
Coleridge tells of a man who sat opposite him at a public 
dinner, whose noble brow and expressive countenance 
impressed him most favorably. Just as- he was about to 
introduce himself to this majestic stranger, the latter caught 
sight of a plate of dumplings, when a brighter light came 

Br his features, his eye sparkled, and intellectual grace 
illuminated his countenance as he exclaimed: M All ! them's 
the jockies for me ! 

THE XECK. 

A beautiful neck is one of the most agreeable features 
of the human figure. It should be long, flexible, slight .y 
rounded, moderately slender, clearly defined in outline, 
well detached from the shoulders, and should be in length 
one -half the height of the head from the level of the chin 
: the summit, and at its narrowest part should have : : 
the size of the wrist. Burke says that of all the beautiful 
objects in nature none surpasses the well molded neck of 
woman. It has a marked significance to the physiognomist 




MODERN LOVERS. 

88 



THE NECK. 



89 



in determining character, and reveals much to the physician, 
who may often be guided by the shape of the neck during 
crises in the life of women. A fair neck denotes good 
blood. It must always receive exquisite care in the toilet. 
As with other features, few people are found with a neck 
bordering on the perfect. Often firmness, whiteness and 
elasticity are found to exist. Except in full evening dress, 
faults of the neck may be concealed by the skillful use of 
decoration. Queen Elizabeth studied this art, and re- 
stored the use of the immense ruffs worn in her time, 
thus overcoming" the misfortune of an exceeding-lv lcnA- 
neck, which greatly annoyed her. A modified phase of 
that fashion has been in vogue recently, and the principle 
may always be employed with advantage. (See page 383.) 
Pearls, ribbons, or other ornaments worn around the neck 
have the same effect in a less degree. The high - cut dress 
and certain methods of arranging the hair may also be 
effectively used. A moderately long neck is not a blemish. 
It is indicative of the finest temperament, the motive, and 
is usually an embodiment of rare grace. Helen of Troy, 
according to descriptions, was tall, and had " a very long 
and white neck, whence she was said to be the daughter 
of a swan." Lady Mary Wortley Montagu also was 
remarkable in this particular. It added to her beauty, and 
she did not seek to conceal it. 

Of course those methods that diminish the length in 
effect are to be eschewed when the opposite effect is 
desired. As little ornament as possible should be placed 
immediately about the neck. The hair should be dressed 
as high as fashion will permit. In all cases the same care 



90 DE la banta's advice to ladies. 

as to cleanliness and use of cosmetics should be bestowed 
upon the neck. (Note extremes on pages 272 and 280.) 



THE SHOULDERS 

Should be moderately plump, sensibly descending in grace- 
ful curves from the neck to the chest (see page 280) ; per- 
fectly erect, flat at the back, full and rounded in front, 
white, smooth, and free from blemishes. This formation is 
indispensable to beauty. 

Square shoulders constitute a serious defect, caused by 
wearing tight corsets, which press up the collar bones in 
front and the shoulder blades behind. When once become 
thus shaped, it is a difficult matter to restore the delicately 
sloping and symmetrical form. Still, much may be done 
to cure the evil. First abandon the cause; then each day 
carry at intervals a weight in each hand for a considerable 
time. A weight upon the shoulders will also be of benefit. 
One author (H. D. P.) recommends a simple method, as 
good perhaps as any where weights are required, and one I 
am inclined to favor because the articles are always at 
hand in every household. She says: 

A homely but very effectual way of educating tlie muscles is to 
wear weights fastened to the shoulders. A small strap answers every 
purpose, buckled on the shoulders with the hands between them at 
the back, having a flat-iron of five or six pounds' weight fastened to 
the straps, which hang under the arms. An extra buckle may be 
sewed half-way down each strap, by which to fasten the iron to the 
end by a second loop. The weights may be worn while reading or 
writing for hours, and will be found rather agreeable, as the3 r balance 
the stooping propensity by throwing the stress upon fresh muscles. 



THE SHOULDERS. 91 

Ladies of a literary turn, or endowed with an aptitude 
tor the easel and brush, are exceedingly liable, owing to 
the requirements of their vocation — which compel one 
arm to be raised and active, and the other at rest — to find 
one shoulder higher than the other. Reverse the position 
several times a day. With the arm of that shoulder which 
is lowest practice swinging from a horizontal bar for five 
minutes at a time, throwing the entire weight upon that 
arm. This tends to elevate that shoulder and slightly 
depress the other. Also practice carrying fifteen or twenty- 
five pounds for five or ten minutes about the room, just 
after rising, in the hand upon the side with the elevated 
shoulder. 

Round shoulders present the most common defect we 
meet, and, I must observe, the most needless. It is the 
result of many causes, common among which is sleeping on 
high pillows, a habit of sitting in a stooping posture and 
strained positions in following various avocations. These 
soon cause the upper third of the spinal column to bend 
forward, which has the effect of depressing the chest, 
destroying its swell, spoiling the beauty of the neck and 
pose of the head, and throwing the shoulders upward and 
forward. It is sometimes caused by disease. In ordinary 
instances carefully watching one's self, abandoning the 
causes, and light exercise with dumb-bells or Indian clubs 
will effect a cure. Shoulder - braces will aid to hold the 
shoulders back and serve as a reminder, but will of them- 
selves effect no permanent change. The shoulders must 
be brought to their proper place by degrees, and the mus- 
cles of the back strengthened until without fatigue or 
strain they do their duty in maintaining the desired posi- 



I>E LA BlXTAi ADVICE TO LAMBS 

tion. To accomplish this, braces may be worn, and indeed 
they are almost absolutely essential to persons in ill health, 
but healthy people may accomplish as much by keeping 
their minds upon themselves constantly, and unhealthy 
ones soon change for the better by following the general 
exercises previously mentioned. Honie-niade inelastic 
braces, recommended by the author just quoted, are the 
best. 

These should be made of coutille or satin jean, two inches wide, 

and corded at the edge. Make them barely long enough to reach the 
belt of the skirts, and button to it. Set the shoulders perfe : y : 
against the wall and find the difference between the blades ; fasten a 
broad strap the same length — not more than two inches, veiy lii: 
— by sewing it to the straps behind even with the lower edge of the 
scapula. This is the best, as well as the cheapest, brace to be found. 

I know this brace to be superior to the elastic, which is 
little else than a reminder. The one recommended holds 
the shoulders firmly in place, and is a good support to the 
weakly. But braces of any kind must not be relied upon 
wholly; resort must be had to exercises that bear dire:: 
upon the shoulders. Such exercise as develops the chr-: 
is absolutely essential, as without a well developed chest 
the shoulders naturally incline forward. The following 
exercise will be of benefit : Take a stick the length of a 
cane; grasp it by the ends in front of you so that the ba 
of the hands are up ; then without letting go throw it c 
the head and crawl through your arms, so to speak, with 
the stick in the same position behind, save, perhaps, that it 
be not grasped so firmly. Work backward and forward 
through your arms and the stick in this manner for a dcr 
times each morning upon rising. It will loosen the joints 
and muscles wonderfully. Always perform this after inhal- 



THE SHOULDERS. 93 

ing and with the lungs full. Also place the hands upon 
the chest, holding the elbows close to the body, and put 
the stick through the eflbows and against the back. This 
draws the shoulders down and back. Walk with the stick 
thus for half an hour each morning. This exercise is inval- 
uable to the development of the shoulders. 

Where the shoulders are too sloping, practice by hang- 
ing with both hands from a rope or horizontal bar. Also 
practice on parallel bars, which are very easily constructed. 
These exercises may be substituted in part by swinging 
between two chairs placed about twenty inches apart, the 
hands upon their backs. This elevates and strengthens the 
shoulders and expands the chest. 

A bad habit with some women, arising from local weak- 
ness or other cause, is that of keeping one shoulder slightly 
in advance of the other. This produces a concaved 
appearance of the chest far from sightly. Using the 
inelastic brace and devoting especial attention to the 
expansion of the chest will correct this bad habit and 
remove its consequences. 

The chief difficulty ladies have to contend with is a lack 
of that fullness of the muscles so necessary to grace. 
Exercise will develop these. Use of the skipping-rope is 
especially good, as are rowing and swimming. Ball play- 
ing, swinging from a bar, all exercise that calls for free use 
of the arms, tends directly to aid those muscles. My rules 
for preserving the erectness of the figure, and hence the 
symmetry of the. shoulders, are to change positions in 
sleeping, also in writing, or at any work likely to call into 
action only one set of members or muscles; to always sit 
erect in an easy position, keeping the chest well thrown 



94 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

out. When it becomes necessary to incline forward bend 
only at the hip joints. When standing or walking, main- 
tain the same poise with regard to the upper portion of the 
body. When in fresh air and sunshine, inflate the lungs 
very frequently, and keep the shoulders down but thrown 
well back; each day exercise the arms thoroughly; fre- 
quently inflate the lungs to their greatest capacity, by 
slowly inhaling and as slowly expelling the air, and never 
wear braces. There are no shoulders not actually deformed, 
however "stooped," that can not be straightened up by a 
steady application of these rules and those for development 
of the chest; while with all the arts, devices and skilled 
treatment in the world, they can not be restored to sym- 
metry without watchful supervision. Time and patience 
are required, and mechanical devices are but aids to the 
will. Let parents and teachers attend to this when the 
bodies of their charges are forming; it is easier then. In 
ancient Greece mothers exhorted their daughters to esteem 
virtue, but they charged them still more earnestly to hold 
their bodies erect and their shoulders well back. I wish 
our ladies would guard as well the symmetry of their 
shoulders as they do their virtue. 

THE CHEST. 

Alphonse LeRoy and some others have contended that 
the development of the chest absolutely determines the 
duration of life. However true or fallacious this idea, 
proper expansion of the chest is necessary to good health. 
A distinguished physiologist has said that people die for 
want of breath — when in many cases only carelessness on 



THE CHEST. 05 

their part prevents their breathing. This is most true; if 
by habit or accident the breathing capacity be diminished, 
the vitalizing forces of the body must deteriorate, however 
perfect the other organs may be, and life is shortened in 
proportion. I am much inclined to favor an assertion once 
made by a learned physician, that nearly every ill flesh is 
heir to has its inception in some affection of the lungs. 
This may seem at first absurd, but if we consider that 
the lungs supply the life - giving principle to the blood and 
thence to the vital organs, we see how much depends 
upon the healthy action of our breathing machinery. 

The exercises I have given for general development and 
the following special methods are all that are necessary, if 
followed persistently, to secure a full chest, healthy lungs 
and a smooth, full tone to the voice. The best indication 
of good lungs is the round rather than the flat, wide chest. 
It should present a fullness in the region of the collar 
bones. The illustration on page 96, of a Southern belle, 
is a very marked type of a finely molded chest. Any hol- 
lowness over the apex of the lungs and under the collar 
bones not only detracts from that symmetry requisite to 
beauty, but is a serious indication of disease of the lungs, 
or a tendency toward it. This is the spot to which physi- 
cians first look for evidences of pulmonary consumption, 
for here is given the first warning of the approach of this 
mortal enemy to beauty and life. When this is appre- 
hended, commence resolutely and follow persistently the 
directions I here give for development, and ten to one you 
will conquer the disease. 

To those who follow this treatment for six months, I 
guarantee that they can expand the chest from three to five 



96 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

inches more than when they commenced. In addition to 
this, I would advise such gymnastics as act on the chest 
and abdominal muscles, and plenty of out - door exercise, 
especially walking, swimming and rowing. 

First. Loosen the clothes about the waist, chest and 
shoulders, so that you can stand perfectly free and at ease. 
(Or it would be better to practice immediately upon arising 
and before dressing.) Place a goose quill, cut short and 
open at both ends, in the mouth; stand where you can get 
fresh air and draw in the breath slowly through the quill to 
the fullest extent, hold it as long as possible, then let it 
escape, no faster, however, than the quill will permit, 
expelling all the air from the lungs, and breathing only 
through the quill. Repeat this four or five times in suc- 
cession two or three times a day. If it start the tears and 
cause dizziness, don't mind it. After three days, in addi- 
tion to this practice, and after drawing in the breath with 
the quill as usual, remove the quill (as you should always 
do when holding the breath), place the right hand on the 
back of the right leg below the hip, extend the left above 
the head, keep the legs stiff, and bend backward, throwing 
the extended hand, head and shoulders as far back as possi- 
ble without falling; when you can no longer hold the 
breath, straighten up, place the quill in the mouth, and let 
the air escape from the lungs slowly. Alternate with the 
left hand on the left leg, repeating the operation four or 
five times. It will be found difficult at first; but persevere. 
If you have access to dumb bells practice with them. 
Plenty of swinging of the arms and legs, kicking, striking, 
beating the chest (not too severely), and plenty of out- 
door exercise, walking, riding on horse - back and swinging 




SOUTHERN BELLE, (Chest). 

96 



THE CHEST. 97 

from a cross-bar, should be indulged in. Also practice 
laughing and use of the guttural tones and explosives, 
such as the letter h spoken quickly, loudly and forcibly, 
from the chest. Another excellent practice is to stand 
with the hands by the side, with the breath entirely expelled 
from the lungs; place the quill in the mouth, and as you 
draw in the breath raise the hands till they extend above 
the head, then clasp and bring them down upon the top of 
the head, being sure to make the raising of the arms sim- 
ultaneous with the inhaling, so that the lungs are filled by 
the time the hands are clasped upon the head. Hold the 
breath as long as possible, then, as it escapes, slowly 
unclasp the hands and stretch them upward and downward, 
and let them fall quietly to the side simultaneously with 
the exhaustion of the air in the lungs. This of itself, 
repeated for a few weeks, will make a vast improvement in 
the size of the chest. A difficult habit to break is that 
easy, lazy manner of sagging down when sitting, which, 
in addition to sleeping upon high pillows, makes so many 
round - shoulders and < sunken chests. People should 
always watch themselves, and when discovered thus, 
straighten up; but it is so easy to settle down in this man- 
ner after years of the habit that many get discouraged and 
prefer to grow "crooked." Let me say for those who 
persevere, that after a month's constant watchfulness you 
will find it just as easy to sit straight and bend only where 
there are joints, as to sag down and compress the lungs 
and other vital organs, besides making the figure hideous 
in shape. Simply bend the backbone in, throw the chest 
out, bend forward only in the hips, and you will soon dis- 
cover yourself naturally assuming that position when 



98 DE LA RAXTA's ADVHS TO LADIES 

sitting. Sleep only on a low pillow, better on none; lie 
on the back frequently if possible; sleep with the mouth 
closed and with plenty of fresh air in the room. 

Stand in a natural position, with the toes 
turned outward, the hands resting upon the hips, and with 
the arms thus half bent throw them back as far as possible, 
holding: the bodv immovable. It: the backward motion be 
simultaneous with the inhaling of the breath. Repeat the 
movement several times, but not so frequently as to cause 
fatigrue. This should follow five or ten minutes' steadv in- 
haling and exhaling without other movement, simply 
standing erect as described. 

Third. With the body in the same position clasp the 
hands behind and stretch them downward as far as possi- 
ble : make this movement as the breath is exhaled. Repeat 
several times. These movements tend to throw back a 
strengthen the shoulders, and also to pull them down, thus 
improving the carriage and preventing the projection of 
the shoulder blades which spoils the beauty of the back, at 
the same time expanding the ehesL 

Fourth. Stand erect as before; take a full inspiration, 
retain the air in the lungs as long as possible; then expel 
it steadily and slowly, beating the chest, abdomen and back 
at the same time with the hands, lightly on the front, but 
smartly on the sides and back. Continue this movement 
during six inspirations. I would advise the use of the 
quill in all eases :>f inhaling and exhaling when not sudden 
or explosive. 

F : fth. Extending the arms in front at right angles 
vith the body and throwing them back several times forci- 
bly, endeavoring to touch the hands at the back, and also 



THE ARMS. 99 

throwing back the bent arms and trying to touch the 
elbows with the same force, has the effect of expanding the 
chest at the collar bones, flattening the shoulder blades, 
correcting roundness of the shoulders, and increasing the 
breathing capacity. The baneful effects of tight lacing 
are remedied by this exercise. 

With these special practices as a foundation, all other 
exercises that will loosen and limber the joints, stir the 
blood, fill the lungs, harden the muscles, straighten the 
figure and invigorate the system, may be employed. If I 
could impress upon our millions of frail ladies the neces- 
sity for a half- hour of such exercise each day, what a 
race of noble women we should soon have! I w T ould say 
that work is not always exercise in the right direction. 
Many who work the hardest are bent and stiffened the 
most. This exercise should be performed whatever the 
occupation, and ladies over the wash-tub, the stove, the 
piano, the easel, the sewing - machine, or the counter, or 
men behind the plow, the bench, counter or desk, may at 
all times watch themselves, and do that which will con- 
tribute to the perfection of their figure, beauty and health. 

THE ARMS. 

Shapely arms are as desirable as full breasts, and usually 
as conspicuously absent. They are especially characteris- 
tic of women, and when of beautiful proportion should be 
small at the wrist, tapering gracefully toward the elbows, 
and should be round, firm, plump and white. In women 
they should be shorter, fuller and more exquisite of form 
and flowing of outline than those of men; the muscles less 



j ' j 



100 DE LA BANTA'S AD VICE TO LADIES. 

abrupt, the flesh softer, the skin fairer, a charm of curves, 
better fitted for the domain of beauty than of utility; 
better to entwine than to toil; the ivy rather than the oak. 
The absence of beauty in the arms is a deficiency deplora- 
ble as any the human figure suffers. It is a defect easily 
concealed so long as full dress occasions do not demand 
display; then the inadequacy becomes painfully appar- 
ent, and no art can possibly conceal it. She who would 
exhibit rare physical charms must possess them, and as it 
is no difficult undertaking to secure them, there is no 
excuse for flat and flabby arms or legs, and that rough, 
pimply skin that afflicts many. Physical charms can be 
made what you would have them, and the skin as fair as an 
infant's. Now I treat purely of facts substantiated every 
day and demonstrated by male and female athletes on the 
stage and in the gymnasium, and in the hundreds of 
healthy, buxom girls whose lives have been untrammeled 
by fashion, who have breathed pure air and performed 
healthful labor. 

It has been said of the Ionian or Grecian women that 
they owed the exquisite shapeliness and beauty of their 
arms to the fact that they were for the most part left nude, 
or covered only with light drapery. No pressure pre- 
vented the fullest development; no ligature at the upper 
portion discolored the flesh. They received the same care 
at the toilet as the face. 

Where the arm is too long or too short, artificial expe- 
dients may be resorted to successfully when sleeves are 
worn, otherwise not. No other remedy is available. If 
too attenuated, the sleeves must be made fuller in part or 
in whole by puffs, trimmings, etc. Long arms should not 



THE ARMS. 101 

be dressed in short sleeves. Fullness to the elbow from 
either the shoulder or wrist has an abbreviating effect. 
The coat sleeve, left open half way between the wrist and 
elbow on the back seam, and filled in with lace or other 
stuffs, and bracelets worn heavy, shorten the arm. When 
too short opposite effects are secured by opposite means. 
Special exercises bearing directly upon the arm develop it 
rapidly, and are liable, if too prolonged and violent, to 
produce the abrupt outlines of knotted muscles rather 
than graceful fullness and beauty acquired by moderate 
continued exercise. This may consist in part of work, 
such as hoeing among the flowers, raking the lawn, sweep- 
ing, etc.; light gymnastics, such as swinging from the 
horizontal bar or a rope swing, pitching quoits, throwing 
ball, skipping the rope, driving spirited horses, rowing, 
swimming, etc. Swinging Indian clubs is especially good, 
also practice with dumb bells. The exercises may be light, 
but should be taken each day. The illustration on page 
208 displays a very characteristic arm, a little plump per- 
haps to be strictly classical; but taken from life, and of 
exquisite form. The illustration of a Venetian girl, on 
page 240, presents a perfect arm; the fore-arm especially, 
which is bared, displaying a faultless contour. 

Proper exercise having been taken, bathe the arms as 
directed for the bust, and when dry rub briskly, first with 
towels and afterward with the dry hand, until the flesh 
burns and glistens. A little almond oil or cold cream 
applied then will aid the skin. 

The external treatment we have named for the bust — 
bathing in cold rain or soft water with ammonia or vinegar 
— is essential. Nothing will increase the size of the arms 

8 



102 DE LA BANTa's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

and legs, and especially the bust, like bathing thoroughly 
and often with cold water, at least once or twice a day, with 
plenty of friction and manipulation, coupled with proper 
exercise, as stated. True, it is my province to commend 
devices of art as well, that will give appearance in the 
absence of the actual, but the reality is ever preferable. 

THE HANDS. 

A beautifully shaped hand should be rather long, taper- 
ing, smooth, and withal delicate and white. Slight blue 
veins should be traceable in the back, but not too visible. 
Little dimples should appear at the knuckles when the 
hands are open. The fingers should be long and taper 
gently. The hand should be rather round, and the hollow, 
when open, soft, dimpled, full and white, varying with rose 
tints, with numerous fine pink lines penciled exquisitely on 
the inner surface. We not unfrequently meet beautiful 
faces, with attractive mouth, eyes, and other features 
among the commoner classes of people, but very rarely do 
we discover elegant hands. Thev are so delicate in con- 
struction, and endowed with such keen sensibility that 
contact with exterior objects necessary in the more coarse 
and menial avocations renders them large and rough, and 
destroys the shapeliness, grace and flexibility so essential 
to beauty. (See pages 24 and 240). 

The classical hand is sufficiently plump in proportion to 
its length. The thumb, when the hand is open, should 
reach half-way up the first finger; and the index or first 
finger should extend to the nail of the second; the third 
should extend half-way between the last joint and the end 



THE HANDS. 103 

of the middle finger ; while the fourth or little finger 
should reach the second joint of the third. 

Like the face, the hands are exposed more than other 
portions of the body, and ladies are fully as anxious that 
they be charming in mold and texture. With ladies of 
leisure they receive quite as much attention, and are as 
susceptible to changes of atmosphere and effects from 
contact with soaps and stains, to which they are liable at all 
times. There are numerous affections peculiar to these 
members, and those most favored are often unable to 
escape them. Roughness, though more common among 
the laboring population, is not confined to them exclusively. 
There are ladies who never performed any manual labor 
who suffer these disadvantages in no small degree, and 
whose hands are naturally red, dry and rough, or chapped. 
Exposure to cold and too frequent washing with irritating 
soaps aggravate these ailments. Care should be taken to 
avoid exposure to damp winds. Cracks are mostly caused 
by not properly drying the hands. When suffering from 
these annoyances it is best to avoid manual labor, if possi- 
ble, and give them your attention for a few days. With 
the treatment we have given, such troubles will soon 
disappear. 

Much of the beauty of the hands attaches to the nails. 
When properly treated they should be nicely curved at the 
edge, and have a smooth surface. They should be kept 
neatly trimmed and clean. They should not be allowed to 
grow too long, although with the Chinese long nails, it is 
said, are a sign of beauty. The free portion should be 
round and short. Rosy or pink nails indicate a healthy 
condition of the body. Cazenave says the Persians are so 



104 DE LA BANTA ? S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

fond of rosy nails they tint and paint them. Indians do 
the same often. An exceedingly disagreeable habit with 
some persons, ordinarily those of nervous - bilious tempera- 
ment, and one which it seems impossible to cure, is that of 
bitino- the nails. 

I give in full a New York letter to a Boston paper on the 
hands of a number of celebrated ladies, which may be of 
sufficient interest to justify incorporation herein : 

FAMOUS WOMEN'S HANDS. 

" Why is it that almost every woman on the stage has good hands ? " 
said a lady to me the other day. " Because they do not work, per- 
haps,'' said I. "No, that can not be it," said she, displaying a pair 
of scrawny arms and hands. " I never did a stroke of work in my 
life, and look at mine. What would they look like on the stage? 
And just imagine me in short sleeves and low neck. People would 
think that the living skeleton had escaped from Barnum's." u I can 
not give } t ou the reason, then," said I, "but it is the rule, and I can 
not recall any well-known professional woman with ugly hands, and 
few, if any, with ugly necks and arms." It is a mighty lucky thing it 
happens so, for it would be a great misfortune if it were otherwise. 
Even Miss Cushman, large as she was, had good hands. They were 
not even proportionately large. A much smaller woman might have 
been proud of them. They were strongly marked, however, and full 
of expression. Fanny Davenport and Louise Cary have the largest 
hands I know of on the stage. Miss Davenport's are the most 
shapely, and are not ugly hands by any means. Though Miss Cary 
only wears a ~No. 7 glove — not a large glove for a woman of her 
size — her hands always impressed me as being masculine looking, 
though they are not a bad shape. I should not want her to box my 
ears, if she were angry. Miss Clara Louise Kellogg has the smallest 
and prettiest hands on the stage. They are positively faultless in 
shape, and, without being at all fat do not show a knuckle, but have 
dimples instead. Hers are most expressive hands, and are a singular 
combination of strength and tenderness. I watch her hands almost 




CIRCASSIAN LADY. 

104 



THE HA^DS. 105 

as much as her face when she is acting. All her gestures are grand 
and graceful. A lady once said: "There is a power Miss Kellogg 
possesses which is at once unique and subtle. It lies in her hands. 
They are pretty, expressive, eloquent. Hands to be crossed, to be 
extended, to curve finger after finger in the line of beauty that feeling 
or the sentiment may suggest. Pretty, young hands, like bird wings 
along with the soaring song. Hands of a Diana, not of a Venus or 
Juno; hands for the chase; though so small, yet so full of vibratory 
power you can fancy them stringing the bow with a will." Christine 
Nilsson's are among the most fascinating hands I know. Not very 
small, but beautifully shaped and beautifully kept. Hands to clasp 
in friendship, or to bury a knife to the hilt in an enemy's heart. 
Hands whose touch thrills and awes you ; so full of meaning that 
they speak the character of the woman. Wonderful, impassioned, 
impulsive hands. Lucca has the homeliest hands among the prima 
donnas, with, perhaps, the exception of Adelina Patti. Lucca's are 
spoiled by the gout, which has drawn the ends of her fingers so that 
they turn a sharp angle. Still, they are good-looking hands at a dis- 
tance, for the fingers appear to be strongly articulated, as in the old 
masters' pictures. Adelina Patti has a well-kept hand, but the 
fingers are long and thickish, and the lower part of the hand quite 
short and broad. Albani has small, thin hands that are spoiled by 
flaring thumbs; but her arms are plump and she has a beautiful 
neck. Mme. Titiens has remarkably fine hands. Though she is a 
very stout woman her hands are not at all pudgy. They do her good 
service in acting. I don't know when I ever saw a more command- 
ing forefinger. When it points to the door it has to be obeyed. Miss 
Beaumont has very white and shapely hands, with smooth pink nails. 
Opera singers, as a rule, have longer nails than actresses, and the 
shape of their fingers is rounder. They also let their nails grow 
longer. Aimee has very long nails, and they are as pink and shiny 
as the inside of a shell. She takes great care of her hands, like all 
French women, and has eloquent little thumbs, on one of which she 
wears a gold band. A large thumb is exceedingly ugly, but a small 
thumb is a very ornamental member, and on the hand of a French 
actress it plays an important and conspicuous part. Clara Morris 
has an interesting hand. The fingers are long, well -shaped and ner- 
vous. Hers is a confiding sort of hand. It gives itself up to you 
when you clasp it, and almost melts away in a tight grip. Yet, when 



10G DE LA BANTA's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

excited, it has force and energy. Miss Marie Gordon has a very 
small, delicate hand. I don't believe that she wears a glove larger 
than 5f. It is a hand full of nervous vitality, and is fond of asserting 
itself in conversation, though comparatively quiet on the stage. A 
hand to pull a friend out of a slough, or hurl a foe from a precipice. 
Agnes Ethel has small, thin, tremulous and excitable hands, lady- 
like, but not restful. Rose Eytinge's hands are well rounded, firm 
and sincere. There is a comfortable decision about them, and they 
look beautiful when crossed on her breast, as she marches down the 
stage in " Rose Michel," or employs them gracefully about her worsted 
work in " Led Astray." Kate Claxton's hands are slight, white, and 
self- assertive. The fingers are soft and flexible, and she uses them 
like a French woman. They are very effective on the sleeve of a 
dress -coat, and they play an important part in " Led Astray " and in 
" The Two Orphans." 



THE BUST. 

The breasts are delicate, and require gentle treatment. 
If they are subjected to constraint by steel bands or heating 
pads that exclude from them the cool, invigorating atmos- 
phere, the organic functions are interfered with, no less 
than grace of form and proper development. 

In France and Spain, at the beginning of the last 
century, full breasts were deemed vulgar, and various 
devices were employed to depress a full bosom. One was 
to strap circular pieces of lead to the mammas. This 
seriously injured the constitution and disqualified the 
sufferers, when they became mothers, from nursing their 
children ; but then the demands of fashion were satisfied. 
The pads and artificial appliances of the present fashion 
are scarcelv less destructive in their effects. 

Woman's normal condition gives her, with few excep- 
tions, full breasts, and, if they are well shaped there 



THE BUST. 107 

should be an interval between them equal to that which 
exists between the nipples and the middle of the hollow of 
the collar bone, which distance should also be one fourth 
the circumference of the chest at their level, and the 
diameter of the base of either should equal the space 
between them. They should be hard and not too large. 
Observe pages 48, 112 and 336. The breasts are com- 
posed of fibrous and fatty tissues, and glands known as the 
mammary glands, which contain the mammary secretions. 
In a healthy condition of the body, the tissues support and 
give elasticity and a round, beautiful shape to the breasts, 
in connection with the glands, the functions of which are 
to retain the secretions pouring into them from the arteries 
and ducts leading thereto. During the period of gestation, 
say between fifteen and forty -five years of age, these 
secretions should be abundant. After marriage the tissues 
soften somewhat, and during pregnancy the secretions 
change to milk and are retained in the lacteal tubes; the 
processes of nature being in a measure reversed and the 
circulation alone performing the function of excretion. If 
this be not active, little eruptions or spots are liable to 
appear on the surface of the body, which disappear at the 
expiration of that period. Before marriage the mammary 
secretions are less lacteal, are active, perform their func- 
tions of lending shape, beauty, and solidity to the breasts, 
and are then conveyed through the proper ducts, canals, 
and the circulation to the uterine organs, whence the 
superfluities and impurities pass off in the menstrual flow. 
In our grandfathers' days, girls of twelve, fifteen and even 
eighteen years of age wore short dresses, their waists and 
busts were untrammeled, their cheeks glowing with health, 



108 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

their flesh hard and rosy, the functions of their bodies in 
active trim, and all capped with a modesty that would 
shame a lily. To - day our girls are " young ladies " of 
matured aspect, shapely waists laced down with corsets, 
the hips and shoulders narrow, the arms bony, and their 
bosoms — alas! just as nature is developing them into the 
voluptuous mold she designed, these embryo belles, anx. 
ious to appear developed, cramp and heat the breasts by 
seeking artificial symmetry. The consequence is that the 
tissues and glands are compressed and become dormant; 
the organs that manufacture the secretions are inactive, 
and the juices that should compose the secretions are 
turned from their natural course and thrust imperfect 
into the circulation; the proper channels are dried up, and 
the lacteal ducts and tubes are closed for want of proper 
support. Thus the mammary glands and tissues, being 
denied the flow of the secretions, necessarily shrink; the 
natural discharge is cut off, and general derangement 
ensues; the blood becomes thereby seriously affected, the 
flesh flabby, the skin discolored in many cases, and the 
bosom bereft of all semblance of what it should be. 

A defect with spare persons is a scarcity of the fatty 
tissue, a lack existing in all parts of the body. It is neces- 
sary in such cases, in addition to local treatment for the 
breasts, to adopt the treatment and diet for leanness, as 
found elsewhere, the essential features of which are to 
take things as easily as possible, sleep upon a soft bed, 
avoid all acids, eat juicy roasts and vegetables containing 
the most sugar, rich pastry and sauces, drink plenty of 
cream or milk, several pints a day, eat fish and eggs in 
every style. Starch foods, as sago, farina, arrowroot and 



THE BUST. 109 

tapioca are excellent to increase fat. Take warm baths, 
after which rub the flesh well and anoint the person with 
some scented oil, as sweet oil in which gum benzoin has 
been boiled. Avoid sea bathing, jealousies, mad loves 
and distracting thoughts. 

The point I wish to insist upon most strenuously is per- 
severance in the treatment. Those who have lived for 
years with the proper organs of the breasts torpid can not 
expect the tissues and glands to swell out to the desired 
size in a few weeks or even months. However, in three 
or six months a considerable change will be observed; and 
should it require a year, is the possession of this charm not 
worth it? Regarding the following treatment, the most 
rapid and decided results follow the use of the breast 
developer, a small suction pump with cups, which starts 
the secretions and circulation and fills the breasts. The 
baths and remedies will in time have their effect, but not 
so surely and markedly as with this instrument. The pre- 
scription to be taken need not be in full doses, if the 
person be warm - blooded. 

Treatment. — Take two quarts of cold water (rain water, if possi- 
ble). Add a teaspoonful of aqua ammonia and a tablespoonful of 
vinegar, with a few drops of rose water as a perfume. Bathe the 
breasts thoroughly for ten minutes, then wipe dry and rub and manip- 
ulate them for fifteen minutes or half an hour night and morning, and 
oftener, if possible, always rubbing up instead of down. After 
manipulating, apply the developer or vacuum cups. This instru- 
ment is indispensable to the rapid and perfect development of the 
bust.* Draw the breasts with this all that is possible, for a half hour 
at least, then anoint with the following : 

* The author will give information respecting developer, or any formulas. 



Almond oil, . . 


3 ounces 


Balm of tolu, . 


2 drachms 


Lard (melted), . . 


. 1 " 


Gum benzoin, . 


. . 2 " 


Balsam of Peru, . 


. 2 drachms 







110 DE LA BAXTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

Boil the guru for two hours in the oil and lard, then add the other 
ingredients and an ounce of rose water. Rub in thoroughly. 

If languid and indisposed to exertion, take the following: 

Quinine, .... 1 drachm , Xux vomica, ... 2 grains 
Iron by hydrogen, . . £ " 

Mix, and make into thirty pills. Dose, one pill three times a day. 

Or the following: 

Cundurango, i ounce | Simple sirup, . . 3i ounces 

Dose, one teaspoonful three times a day. 

Or the following : 

Panax (ginseng), . . 1 ounce | Simple sirup, ... 5 ounces 
Dose, one teaspoonful three times a day. 

During treatment alternate these, using one a while then 
another. They need not be taken so often if a person be 
vigorous and warm - blooded, but are harmless in all cases. 
Drink milk night and morning. Avoid all padding and 
compressions from the corsets or other causes. 

Concerning the instrument mentioned, I quote from a 
very creditable work on physical beauty, from a medical 
standpoint, by Brinton and Xapheys : 

An instrument which seems to have claims as a promoter of health 
and beauty has been invented for improving the shape of the breast. 
It is a bowl of glass to which is fitted a stop-cock. The air is 
exhausted by means of an air syringe, and a flow of blood to the part 
follows. It is highly likely that this device would be of considerable 
service, and that the breasts would be rendered much more shapely 
and better adapted to fulfill their functions. The theory of the 
instrument is philosophical, and if used regularly for a sufficient 
time it must certainly restore the organs in great measure to their 
proper shape, size and function. As the breasts are delicate and lia- 
ble to various inflammatory diseases, proper caution should be 
observed not to injure them by too violent applications, and whenever 



THE BUST. Ill 

tenderness is produced, the instrument should be laid aside until the 
sensation subsides. After having had them once explained, any one 
can use these vacuum cups with readiness and safety. 

This instrument, manufactured by and employed under 
the direction of the writer, is unfailing when used in addi- 
tion to the treatment prescribed. 

The above treatment is for all cases, regardless of other 
difficulties. If you are troubled with excessive menstrua- 
tion take the following : 



Gelseminum (tincture), - i ounce 
Simple sirup, ... 3 " 



Compound tincture of 

Virginia snake root, - i ounce 



Dose, one teaspoonful morning and night. 

Too much attention can not be given to diet. No other 
single organ demands such a variety of material, or draws 
so largely upon all kinds of food as the breasts. 

When a lady does not wish to nurse her child, she should 
dry the milk immediately after the birth by artificial means, 
if she would preserve the shapeliness of her breasts. 

The breasts of young girls should not be tampered with. 
They should in no way suffer compression, but have the 
full benefit of the fresh air, exercise and freedom craved 
by youthful impulse and animal spirits. The engraving 
on page 120 shows the freedom of dress accorded the 
Roman youth. 

Oriental women, with a mold of bosom that is seldom if 
ever approached by European or American ladies, cultivate 
their forms, so we are told, by wearing cinctures of linen 
under the breasts at night, and chafing them lightly. Com- 
presses of linen wet with cold water and laid over the 
breast at night aid development. The nipples may be 
enlarged by anointing with olive oil, and suction by 



112 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

means of a clay pipe, placing the bowl over them and 
exhausting the air with the mouth, a method nearly all 
mothers are conversant with. Just now the countrv is 
excited over Gen. Pleasonton's discoveries of the virtues 
of blue glass. The writer's attention was first directed to 
this subject by a statement in print that a lady had success- 
fully employed this treatment for the growth of her breasts. 
Since the agitation of the subject, one or two additional 
instances have been made public to the same effect. What 
the effect of this treatment may be on disease, if anv, when 
thoroughly tested, I do not know. So far we only have 
the statement by the discoverer and his friends. It can 
but do good because introducing sunlight, of which we 
have too little. I believe from what I have seen that 
sitting daily for half an hour with the breasts exposed to 
the alternate blue and white rays, will aid their growth, and 
therefore recommend it. 

The breasts sometimes attain to an inordinate size, and 
are a source of great annoyance and sensitiveness to those 
ladies so afflicted. Several instances are cited by different 
authors where they have developed to an immense magni- 
tude. One authority, from whom I borrow the following 
treatment, mentions a case Avhere either breast weighed 
fifteen pounds, and another in Paris where both breasts 
weighed nearly sixty pounds. The writer knows of sev- 
eral who feel themselves sorely burdened by a predominance 
of these tissues. The following treatment, resolutely 
adhered to, will reduce them : Use constantly an oint- 
ment containing cadmium or iodine, and take internally 
iodide of potassium; also use firmly applied bandages of 
adhesive plaster. A physician should direct this treat- 




EUGENIE, (American Beauty). 
112 



THE WAIST. 113 

ment to avoid any suffering which might occur through 
ignorance. 

THE WAIST. 

In numerous essential respects woman's form differs from 
that of man. Her shoulders should be level, large, erect, 
insensibly descending and well poised. They are, however, 
of more delicate make and are less removed from the 
trunk than with men. The chest should be large, full, 
well up, round and graceful in mold. The breasts, if 
properly shaped, should not cover the chest too largely; 
should be well set, high, round and projecting, and, if 
inclined to fall after maternity, should be supported by the 
corset from beneath; this will give the desired symmetry 
and fullness. Full breasts are indispensable to a beautiful 
waist. The collar bones in women are less curved, and 
therefore of greater length and of beautiful width. The 
hips are more advanced and the abdomen fuller. Large hips 
are necessary to make the waist appear small, this being 
much finer in women than in men. An absurd idea, pre- 
vails that a small or "wasp -waist" is desirable, against 
the declarations of artists and physicians to the contrary. 
It should have the least circumference of the body, but 
will be found handsomest when guiltless of tight corsets. 
The Venus de Medici, most admired of Grecian art, also 
the Greek slave, displays a natural waist. Interesting 
comparisons may be noted on pages 1, 48, 240, and 24. 
The waist for a woman five feet in height should be about 
twenty -five inches, and should increase a half inch for 
every inch additional in stature, exclusive of clothing. 



114 DE LA BAXTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

The ancients wore their cloaks on one shoulder, thus con- 
cealing a part of the figure, leaving the waist exposed, such 
was the estimate put upon its beauty. Stiffness in the 
waist, from whatever cause, is fatal to beauty and grace. 
A clumsy, ungainly waist is exceedingly unattractive, and 
should be trained down by degrees, by reducing superflu- 
ous flesh, as prescribed elsewhere, and lacing the corsets 
frequently at the lower lacings, but not to an injurious 
degree. By proper attention almost any waist may be 
rendered of fine size and in harmony with the contour of 
the chest, hips and abdomen. Compressing it to a less size 
injures the health, spoils the shoulders, chest and breast, 
cramps the lungs, impedes the circulation and ruins the 
complexion. The cheeks grow pale, the lips turn purple, 
consumption is often engendered and beauty ruined. 

When the waist is laced too tightly it appears to be in 
one piece, depriving it of all freedom and grace, when it 
should be flexible and lithe. It may be molded finely, yet 
have a constrained air painful to behold. Young girls 
should never wear a corset, or if they do, it should be loose 
and well - fitting. They should be encouraged in every 
impulse tending to freedom from any constraint of the 
person, and allowed to run, leap, jump and indulge in such 
exercise as will make them graceful, give healthy, vigorous 
action to the vital organs, render the limbs full, round, hard 
and flexible, and models of graceful symmetry. They 
should always sit straight at their studies or occupations, 
yet without disagreeable stiffness. The breast bone is 
turned in upon the lungs, and many other ills result from 
compression of the waist. Remember that a small waist 
may be considered pretty, and is in some respects; but a 



THE HIPS A.ND ABDOMEN. 115 

fine waist is that medium between extremes which is in 
harmony with the whole figure. Clothing helps to show 
the form — especially the waist — to advantage, lends grace 
when lacking, and conceals defects. Often the stiffness ap- 
parent in the figure comes from excessively tight clothing. 
The waist may be finely modeled, yet admit of flexibility 
and grace. Great care should be observed in the selection 
of corsets, as an ill fitting corset will spoil a waist in ten 
days. With growing persons the size should be often 
changed. 

THE HIPS AND ABDOMEN. 

Broad, shapely hips add much to the beauty of the 
female figure. They are more displayed by the present 
mode of ladies' dress, in which the skirts are drawn closer 
around the front and sides, than formerly. See page 296. 

The abdomen with ladies is naturally fuller than with 
men, rendering the form round and proportionably full. 
Without this, the expansion of the hips would cause a con- 
cave appearance, quite out of harmony with grace of 
figure. Ladies often experience disagreeable changes in 
this region, principally an extreme fullness as if bloated, 
which is very annoying, though not always painful. It 
usually occurs previous to the monthly period. It may be 
relieved by tepid baths, adhering to a simple diet for a 
short time, and wearing the clothes loosely about the waist. 
It is more unpleasant than serious. Cool sitz baths 
strengthen the back and hips; walking is invaluable. A 
good exercise for the muscles of the loins is the use of the 
triangle — a rope suspended from the ceiling, split at the 



116 DE LA BAXTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

lower end, with a strand fastened to either end of a stick 
the length of a cane, suspended just within reach. Grasp- 
ing this in the hands, skip back and forth; the weight is 
thus divided between the arms and lower limbs. Two per- 
sons clasping hands and twisting through under the arms, 
a feat known to all school girls as "wringing the towel," 
will be found an unequaled exercise for imparting strength, 
symmetry and suppleness to the muscles and joints, besides 
acting upon a greater number of muscles than any other 
single exercise. 

A girdle worn conveniently tight about the loins sup- 
ports the muscles of the back. I think, however, that this 
should only be worn in cases of weakness and to avoid 
fatigue. Regular exercise affecting these muscles will soon 
give lasting strength. 

THE LEGS. 

Beauty in the lower limbs is much to be desired. The 
legs, it is true, are concealed by the skirts, yet what lady 
goes upon the street without repeatedly exhibiting her 
ankles, and perhaps the calf half-way to the knee. This 
is at times unavoidable, in ascending steps and at street 
crossings, without bedraggling the skirts or taking such 
particular care to avoid possible display as to appear 
severely prudish. Men are sensibly impressed with the 
beauty, size and symmetry of these members. I have 
known men who have watched the growth of ladies from 
the days of their short dresses and married them; the 
assurance of finely molded limbs, from their development 
displayed in girlhood, being not the least incentive. The 



THE FEET. 117 

thighs are remarkable among women principally for size, 
polish, fullness and their beauty of outline. If of proper 
size, they should touch each other slightly above the 
knee, and be firm, white and massive. Mareau de la Saithe, 
a celebrated author, said that " the reliefs supporting them 
behind have a type of beauty difficult to describe." Dry- 
ness and exaggeration are the ordinary defects of these 
parts. The calf, when elegantly formed, should curve 
gracefully from the ankle to the knee, also as it approaches 
the thighs. The knee joints should show slightly. When 
long, round, tapering, white and free from hair, the legs 
may be said to be handsome. The legs in women are 
shorter and plumper than in men. Their relative short- 
ness is palpable when sitting, and we are often surprised 
to find when seated beside a lady how much taller she 
appears than when standing. For weak ankles, walking 
is excellent; sea bathing or a bath of salt water in Sum- 
mer is beneficial; skating is good exercise both for the 
ankles and the entire person. Ankle braces may be used 
with good effect, especially by children. For developing 
the thighs and calves, and rendering the skin fair, the 
exercises before mentioned are absolutely essential. 

THE FEET. 

It is said that by the feet we may trace the quality of 
ancestral blood. The instep should be high. The Spanish 
ladies are noted for the beauty of their feet; and a Castil- 
ian proverb says that a well proportioned foot should be 
sufficiently arched to permit a river to flow under it. The 
foot should be hollow beneath the instep; not too long at 

9 



118 DE LA BANTA's AD VICE TO LADIES. 

the heel; and vary in size according to the proportions of 
the body, being neither too large nor too small. The heel 
should not be too flat nor too high. It should be long, 
slim and rounded. The feet are subject to malformations 
as much or more than other portions of the body, owing 
to a mistaken idea that small feet are pretty. Ladies 
torture themselves distressingly in this, and frequently 
suffer lasting deformity in consequence. I hear it said 
that such and such ladies wear a No. 2 or 2-g- boot, and 
ladies weighing from one hundred and fifty to two hundred 
pounds envying them. This is absurd in the extreme. 
Such ladies should at least wear from No. 5 to No. 8 shoes. 
Martha Washington wore No. 5, and was noted for her 
small feet; yet she weighed not to exceed one hundred and 
forty -five pounds. Modern shoes are very elegant, but 
they often arrest proper development of the foot by uneven 
compression. Ladies should wear the shoes longer than 
the feet, that grace and ease may accompany their move- 
ments. If shoes are worn moderately tight, as they may 
be without injury, the pressure should be distributed over 
the entire foot, otherwise corns, bunions, and other evils 
are sure to follow, and often cause serious deformity. 

Special care should be taken of the feet in warm weather. 
For those walking a great deal, frequent washings in luke- 
warm water, with soap, and also changes of hose are 
necessary. When the feet perspire, rub them with a little 
cologne or alcohol. It is well to often anoint the soles of 
the feet with some oily pomade, as the skin with persons 
who walk much is liable to become hard, very thick and 
dry ; is often painful, and sometimes causes deformity. 
Previous to using the pomade it is well to rub the hardened 



THE WALK. 119 

surfaces with pumice stone. This renders them soft and 
smooth. The difference between callosity forming on the 
heels and soles, where persons walk a great deal, and 
corns, which usually come from compression of the boot, is, 
that the former rests on the surface, while the latter, with a 
horny root, penetrates the flesh. They were styled " foot 
nails," by Celsus, from the pain they caused when growing 
between the toes. Bunions generally appear on the joint 
of the great toe, and become at times as hard as the bone 
itself, and when of long standing seem attached to it. Soft 
plasters and easy shoes relieve them. Kerosene oil is often 
excellent ; also foot - baths. Chilblains are exceedingly 
troublesome, and sometimes affect the hands almost to 
deformity, but they more usually attack the feet, especially 
of children. Young girls with delicate skin often suffer 
much from them. Cazenave says : " To prevent their 
returning, as they always do in cold damp weather, use 
daily a lotion of pure water with snow wine or camphor- 
ated brandy. Ammonia and eau de cologne are excellent; 
also Peruvian balm." Further details will be found else- 
where. 

THE WALK. 

A shapely, graceful form gives rare ease to the carriage. 
An English historian, speaking of Anne Boleyn, the wife 
of Henry VIII, said : " She had in her appearance and 
manner a charming and inimitable air." In his History of 
Antiquity, Wincklemann said the Greeks sought to observe 
great modesty in their carriage and actions. They believed 
that a precipitate step shocked the ideas of propriety and 



120 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

announced a sort of rusticity in their manners. Ovid 
said : " Learn to walk as becomes a woman." The fashion 
lately in vogue of wearing high heels did much to spoil 
the walk of our ladies. Elegance, lightness and grace are 
essential qualities of beauty, and match well with dignity 
and force. The movements in walking should not be 
allowed to change or be restrained by timidity or affecta- 
tion. The form should be erect, the chest thrown well out, 
the step elastic and firm. A disagreeable, heavy, torpid 
step often originates in want of attention in childhood. 
Many women are short, with broad hips, and are liable to 
get into the habit of waddling. They should avoid this. 
Never take long strides; they soon spoil the gait, making it 
heavy. Support yourself easily and firmly, and do not let 
your legs embarrass you as they do many young people. 
" Remember," says La Bruyere, " a fool does not enter, go 
out, sit, or stand on his legs like an intelligent man." 

One can not walk well without some effort at poise. 
Jacques demands " a certain degree of tension, at least, of 
nearly all the muscles." Cazenave says : " There is some- 
thing very disagreeable in a heavy, torpid step." The 
first requisite to a fine walk is an erect posture; attain this 
even at the risk of stiffness, for it is better to be too 
straight than crooked. The former can be worked down 
to an easy grace in time, but the latter never. Some one 
has well said : " The erect position in walking is all im- 
portant; not only is it valuable to the corporeal system, 
but begets an erect habit in the mind and heart. No per- 
son can walk with a dignified mien without feeling a 
mental and moral elevation. As an aid to this position the 
eye should not strike the ground for many rods in the dis- 




CORNELIA AXD HER JEWELS, (Roman Youth). 

120 



THE WALK. 121 

tance; the sight should run horizontally; this will prevent 
the head from drooping, the trunk from bending and the 
joints from becoming lax and weak." 

If there be a seemingly insurmountable failing in our 
Northern ladies, it is in the carriage. They walk as if 
they thought the world's eyes were constantly upon them. 
They bend only the knees, holding the rest of the body 
rigidly stiff. I wish I could introduce to their gaze the 
marvelous walk of the Southern Creole ladies. It is inde- 
scribable. Every inch of their bodies seems to describe a 
curve, and every movement is instinct with grace. Walk- 
ing seems to be their element — it partakes of their very 
natures. 

Our ladies can cultivate this. They can study the laws 
of motion as of anything else. It is a qualification of an 
actor to acquire a proper stage walk. Let our ladies begin 
to look at themselves, find what are their natural tendencies 
and overcome them; practice will be required, but grace 
will come to them by degrees until ere they are aware they 
are models. Walking gracefully is a rare accomplishment 
that must be acquired where ladies are not born to it as the 
Creoles are. First put into practice the several methods 
of exercise I have recommended for figure development; 
each day make it a duty. You remember walking is a 
part of those exercises; practice this when you take your 
daily walks. 

A good exercise is to take a rounded stick and put it 
across the back, through the arms, which are thrown back 
at right angles; keep an upright position of the body and 
walk back and forth for ten or fifteen minutes. This 
draws the shoulders down and holds them firm. It also 



122 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TJO LADIES. 

strengthens the muscles of the shoulders, back and limbs, 
and corrects a one - sided, loose and unsteady walk. 

To thoroughly get all the muscles into play fold the 
arms across the back and bend backward as far as possi- 
ble, slightly inclining the head forward. Repeat a dozen 
times or more. Again, extend the arms in front at right 
angles, then suddenly bend forward, keeping the knees 
stiff and endeavor to touch the floor; this exercises the 
hips and vertebral joints. Repeat as with the last. 

To strengthen the back and also to give ' elasticity to all 
the muscles, stand erect with the arms extended wide 
horizontally, then bend the body from side to side, slowly 
at first, but more rapidly by degrees. Pursue this for five 
minutes at a time. A very beneficial exercise also is to 
place the hands firmly on the hips and hop on the toes, first 
on one foot and then on the other, for a hundred steps or 
less. The body should be held upright, the knee and 
ankle joints elastic. The intensity of the movement may 
be regulated by the height of the spring from the floor. 

I am indebted for some of these exercises to reputable 
teachers and have tested them personally. 

The walk should be a glide, not a wriggle; elastic, not 
jerky; describe curves, not angles. In lifting the skirts or 
managing a train, the more deftly and elegantly it is done 
the more bewitching you are. I see very few who are 
skilled in the little but delicate accomplishments which 
appertain to the walk, and a very little attention to these 
details, so charming in themselves, will do much to enhance 
the effectiveness of your presence. 

The following remarks of Alexander Walker are worth 
attention : 









THE WALK. I'll) 

In considering the proportions of the limbs to the body — if even 
in a young woman the walk, though otherwise good, be heavy, or the 
fall on each foot alternately be sudden and rather upon the heel, the 
limbs, though well formed, will be found to be slender compared with 
the body. In women of this conformation the slightest indisposition 
or disability is indicated by a slight vibration of the shoulders and 
upper part of the chest at every step in walking. 

In considering the line or direction of the limbs, if viewed from 
behind, the feet at every step are thrown out and backward and 
somewhat laterally, the knees are certainly much inclined inward. 
If, viewed in front, the dress at every step is as it were gathered 
toward the front and then tossed more or less to the opposite side, 
the knees are certainly too much inclined. 

In considering the relative size of each portion of the limbs, if in 
the walk there be a greater or less approach to the marching pace, the 
hip is large, for we naturally employ the joint which is surrounded 
with the most powerful muscles, and in any approach to the march 
it is the hip joint which is used, and the knee and ankle joints which 
remain proportionably unemployed. 

If in the walk the tripping pace be used, as in an approach to walk- 
ing on tip toes, the calf is large, for it is only by the power of its 
muscles that under the weight of the whole body the foot can be 
extended for this purpose. 

If in the walk the foot be raised in a slovenly manner and the heel 
be seen at each step to lift the bottom of the dress upward and back- 
ward, neither the hip nor the calf is well developed. 



Obese and Spaee Figures. 



While in some countries abundance of adipose tissue is 
thought desirable, and in others the veriest animated skele- 
ton is held to be the perfection of human mold, among 
Americans and Europeans a happy medium is sought. 

A writer, quoting Brillat Savarin's remark that it is 
the life study of every woman — at least every pretty one 
— to become either a little stouter or a little thinner, says 
he rejects the aspersion; but then it is true, and he don't 
deny it, "that the precise medium between corpulence and 
leanness is hard to attain and harder to keep." 

The brilliant New York correspondent of the Chicago 
Tunes, in a gossipy letter from Long Branch, speaking of 
bathing and bathers, cuts right and left into the ranks of 
the needlessly ill -shaped ladies who congregate there. 
She says, speaking of the extreme fashionables at that 
popular resort: 

It is bewitching to be stupid, indifferent, and never to be either 
hurried or surprised. Nor to seem to have taken any trouble, or 
made an effort about anything whatever. Of course none of this sort 
of lady deceives anybody but herself by this apparent indifference. 
Each one sees through all these calms into the deep worries, striv- 
ings, and plannings of her acquaintances. She is of the class who 
declare that it is vulgar to bathe in the face and eyes of a gaping 
crowd. She really means that she can not make a fine appearance 
without great trouble both before and after the plunge, and then 

124 



OBESE AND SPAKE FIGURES. 125 

endure agonies while she is being tossed about by the insolent and 
disarranging surf. 

Of course I am convinced that it is not only ill - natured, but that 
it is highly improper to write about these things, and especially to 
expose them, because they are considered by each individual lady as 
her own profoundly secret and deeply mysterious reasons, which she 
is certain no human being will ever even suspect, much less discover. 
Because it is not right to mention the causes which keep her out of 
the silver surf is the very reason why I long to tell you, and why you 
really wish to know all about them. 

If a visitor is really handsome, wears the complexion which 
mother nature, good health, and proper exercise and food combine 
to bestow upon her, and her figure is shapely, her feet not too large, 
her hair tolerably abundant, and sufficiently long, she defies fashion 
and the under - tow, takes the fashionable prohibition by the horns, 
her life in her hands, and dives into the surging surf. Perhaps she 
is afterward dragged out of it, but that don't matter. She exposes 
no shams of person, and the chances are that she will not be so far 
choked with sea- water as to require a rolling upon a barrel, because 
this style of person is not so abundant at Long Branch but that there 
will be plenty of manly plungers on the eager watch for her who 
are almost praying that some treacherous under -current will make 
it their good fortune to rescue her from a tidal danger. As I said, 
this style of lady is not abundant upon this shore. 

Then there is the stout lady. Oh! there are hundreds of them 
upon the verandas of the over -crowded hotels. If she went into 
the water, she would be compelled to wear a corset under her bathing 
suit, and if she did require the barrel - rolling performance, it would 
be very embarrassing both to the rolled and to the rollers, you know. 
Yes, and she knows it also. And so she waits within sound of the 
dinner announcement, and declares bathing in the sea entirely out 
of style among exclusive, fashionable and refined people. 

Then there is the very thin woman, this extremely spare creature, 
who looks like an articulated and animated skeleton which had been 
costumed by Worth to serve him as a portable sign. Of course she 
can not expose herself and all her personal appliances to the disar- 
ranging conduct of the teasing waves. It would be almost impossi- 
ble to escape except in sections. JSTo, she has concluded that bathing 
shall be left to those who are less artistic in their habits. 



126 DE LA BA_NTA*5 ADVICE TO LADIES. 

After this follows the lady with an artificial comeliness of color, 
and then she of the borrowed locks. The latter can be strapped on, but 
it is not a safe experiment. 

Without doubt there are tender, charitable readers of this column 
who will complain to their dear, sweet selves, and possibly to their 
friends, that this mention of other people's misfortunes is not a 
womanly thing to do. I am not certain that it is gentle or gener- 
ous if looked at from one standpoint ; but I insist that both fat women 
and thin women are their own enemies. They might be properly and 
evenly covered with flesh if they would only take the trouble to eat 
just enough of the proper sort of food, sleep just sufficiently in the 
proper atmosphere, take the right exercise at the proper time, and 
not too much or too little of it, and above all things give their mental 
forces a chance for healthy development, and they could escape the 
ills which make public bathing a torture or an impossibility, 

Women think so little of useful, ennobling things, and so much 
of frivolous worries about small interests that their bodies are sub- 
ject to depletions or, what is still worse, excessive deposits of adipose, 
which suitable mental and physical exercise would throw off. Too 
much fat is always a proof of diseased action. I said this to Jack, 
who was smoking, with his feet out the window, and he answered : 
" These hotels should change their name to ' The Long Branch Hos- 
pitals for 111 - Shaped People,' if your theory be correct, and I am 
inclined to agree with it. Those ladies who live in hotels, or who 
are disinclined to personal supervision of their private establishments, 
are seldom handsomely proportioned. Excessive supervision is even 
more thinning in its tendency than utter negligence. There is Sam 
Smith's wife. There is less meat upon her hands than you could 
find on a hen's forehead. Fatty secretions, which make dimples on 
some ladies, appear to abominate her as intensely as she abhors a 
scrap of dust or a stain on her carpets. This proves that nature 
detests all excess. I'll take the hint and not smoke another cigar or 
^wallow another julep to-day, even if President Grant provides it, 
which generosity is not in his way, so his intimates admit. Yes, date 
your letter at ' The Hospitable for Incurables.' All that you can 
write or say won't hinder that female two -hundred -pounder who is 
fanning herself like a wind -mill and puffing like a porpoise on that 
bench yonder, although the thermometer is only 72" in the shade, 
from over - stuffing her gastric engine with fuel ; or prevent that human 



OBESITY TO REDUCE AND PREVENT IT. 127 

rail, who is promenading in the sun to keep warm, from fretting off 
her fatty supplies by envyings, jealousies, contrivings, maneuverings, 
over - Teachings, evil imaginings, and all sorts of internal torturings, 
which burn out her physical machinery. She will finish herself and 
be at rest, but she will run at high speed with rough journals while 
she goes." 



OBESITY — TO REDUCE AND PREVENT IT. 

A superabundance of fat does not conduce to beauty. 
The infirmity is with some hereditary, and in others does 
not develop until late in life. It affects women more fre- 
quently than men. With a lymphatic temperament and 
under favorable circumstances, it develops rapidly; as, for 
instance, with those of sedentary habits, or lazy, indolent 
disposition, and who indulge in prolonged sleep and physi- 
cal and moral inaction. In Egypt the abuse of certain 
pleasures, the habitual use of warm baths, and the sultry 
climate, make the men extremely corpulent. Nevertheless, 
cold climates produce the same result in isolated cases. 
With those following certain professions or trades it is 
remarked more particularly — for instance, butchers are 
almost invariably fat, also brewers, and those who drink 
freely of malt liquors. That condition is also liable to fol- 
low the constant use of certain food, as potatoes, milk, 
sugar, bread, fruits, beer, etc., which, if they do not pro- 
duce, at least assist to develop it, especially at a late period 
in life. In many, when not too burdensome and united to 
high color, it is not unattractive. There are a host of 
means recommended to reduce corpulency, but many are 
not commendable. The following treatment will accom- 
plish the desired end : Practice intellectual labors, and 



128 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

exercise regularly with gymnastics, etc. Dancing, garden- 
ing, riding on horse - back, long, brisk walks, swinging 
Indian clubs, fencing, and such exercises as are best suited 
to the sex, should be indulged in thoroughly. Lead an 
active life, seek the action of fire, sunshine, and a warm, 
dry atmosphere. A bad case of love, or jealousy, has a 
salutary effect. Partake of no sweetmeats, but little 
bread or meat; avoid fat, and take acid drinks in large 
quantities. To these hygienic rules may be added friction, 
alkaline, salt water, and above all, vapor baths, Turkish or 
Russian when they can be taken, and plenty of shampoo- 
ing. No tepid baths should be indulged in. Sea bathing 
is excellent. Eat or drink vinegar plentifully. The best 
acid, and that which should be taken largely, is lemon 
juice. There need be no stint in its use. Eat sufficient, 
but not more, better too little than too much. To substi- 
tute the ocean bath, rise at six and immediately bathe the 
entire person in brine of the temperature of the room. 
Dissolve a handful of rock salt in two or three quarts of 
water. Rub dry quickly with a rough towel or flesh 
gloves. 

Bodily ease must be sacrificed. There is nothing like 
pressure — forcing both the mind and body — to remove 
flesh; therefore put the springs of your luxurious bed in 
the store -house; sell those great pillows with their wealth 
of round shoulders, headache and feathers, or give them to 
the poor; sleep on a hard bed, and only from six to seven 
hours, and positively forego siestas. If drowsy during the 
day, take a brisk walk or other exercise, and do not shirk 
study or work. These rapidly dispose of the watery fluids 
in the tissues that often are mistaken for fat, through per- 




ORIENTAL LADY, (Voluptuous Type). 

128 



OBESITY TO REDUCE AND PKEVENT IT. 129 

spiration and increased action of the lungs. Keep the 
bowels loose by light alteratives, as magnesia or some one 
of the numerous spring waters — Congress, Kissingen and 
others — which are simple and healthful. Strict attention to 
diet and plenty of exercise will surely dispose of super- 
fluous avoirdupois. There are drugs that act directly upon 
the fat, that might be employed advantageously, but they 
should be used only under the direction of a physician. 
Some of the most important of these are, iodide of potas- 
sium, bromide of ammonium, liquor potassae, acetic acid, 
the fucus vesiculosus and haloid salts of cadmium. It is 
better not to have recourse to these, but under no circum- 
stances indulge in the vile compounds advertised: they are 
not only worthless but dangerous. A well known physician 
states that a strong infusion of sassafras drank frequently 
will reduce flesh as rapidly as any thing known. An ounce 
of bark to a quart of water is the proportion. Boil slowly 
for half an hour, then set aside for use. Drink hot or iced, 
with sugar or without, according to the taste. 

Persons afflicted with obesity rarely live long. One 
medical author says, " often corpulence is a protection 
thrown out by the system against some threatening dis- 
ease." In such cases the reduction of flesh should not be 
attempted without extreme care: in fact, in all cases of 
greatly increased weight, a medical examination should be 
made for symptoms of any disease that may be lurking in 
the system, and the family history should be inquired into 
for indications of hereditary tendencies, lest evil results 
should follow too vigorous treatment. 

It is also well to regard the seasons, for there are times 
when the body is in better condition to undergo change 



130 



DE LA BAXTA's ADVICE TO LADIES. 



Weight. 


Size. 


Weight. 


120 pounds 


5 ft. 7 in. . 


. 148 pounds 


126 " 


5 ft. 8 in. . " . 


. 155 " 


133 " 


5 ft. 9 in. . 


. 162 " 


136 " 


5 ft. 10 in. . 


. 169 " 


142 " 


5 ft. 11 in. . 


. 174 " 


145 " 


6 ft 


178 " 



than at others, and the proper food is more readily obtained. 
Certain changes to which the female body is subject, at 
critical periods of life, must also be considered. These 
precautionary measures taken, there is no danger attached 
to the treatment. 

The following table shows the weight that should accom- 
pany a certain stature: 

Size. 

5 ft. 1 in. . . 

5 ft. 2 in. . . 

5 ft. 3 in. . . 

5 ft. 4 in. . . 

5 ft. o in. . . 

5 ft. 6 in. . . 

Banting's treatment has become celebrated. The case 
is cited of a gentleman weig-hing* two hundred and two 
pounds who was reduced by it in less than twenty days 
forty -six pounds. The diet prescribed by it is as follows: 
At breakfast, four or five ounces of beef or mutton, broiled 
fish, cold meats of all kinds, except pork, a cup of tea with- 
out milk or sugar, an ounce of toasted bread, or a little 
biscuit. At dinner, five or six ounces of fish (not salmon) 
or meat, save pork, and all kinds of vegetables except 
potatoes; no poultry or game; no pastry; an ounce of 
toasted bread, a little fruit (two or three ounces), two or 
three glasses of good Bordeaux or Madeira (champagne, 
port wine and beer prohibited), and a cup of tea with- 
out milk or sugar. At supper, three or four ounces of 
meat or fish. As at dinner, three or four glasses of Bor- 
deaux. Before retiring, if one feels the need of refresh- 
ment, a glass of Bordeaux or Xeres. This treatment, of 
course, can be modified according to the habits or health 



OBESITY TO REDUCE AND PREVENT IT. 131 

of the individual. Although English customs differ some- 
what from ours, the important feature of regularity, 
composition and quantity should be observed. 

After failing in every direction to rid himself of his 
troublesome adipose, Mr. Banting at last met in Mr. Harvy, 
Surgeon of the Royal Dispensary for Diseases of the Ear, 
the only one who seemed to understand his case. He 
argued on Bernard's theory, generally accepted, concern- 
ing glucose and bile from the liver. Glucose preponderates 
in both diabetes and obesity, and the surgeon reasoned 
that the dry diet which extracted it from the system in one 
disease would in the other, and accordingly prescribed the 
opposite of the former diet — butter, bread, milk, beer, 
sugar, potatoes and similar food, yet as is seen by Mr. Bant- 
ing's bill of fare, the allowance was liberal in quantity. 
My fleshy friends need not deem the task so difficult, nor 
suffer longer their misfortune, if they will but follow this 
system earnestly. 

I will add one other method of treatment from a high 
authority, which, though seeming calculated to produce 
rather than reduce flesh, may in some cases prove of 
benefit. It consists simply in the use of a milk diet. See 
Journal de Med. et de Chir., vol. 47, 1876. In treating 
albuminuria with milk, M. Fariner orders for the first day 
one quart of milk, with two portions of food; for the sec- 
ond day, two quarts of milk and one portion of food; for 
the third day, three quarts of milk and one portion of food; 
for the fourth day and afterward, four quarts of milk and 
no food at all. In treating obesity it is not necessary to 
adhere so rigidly to the milk diet. A little food may be 
taken, and the milk in such quantities and at such times as 



132 



DE LA BAKTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 



the patient likes, provided the prescribed quantities per 
diem be taken. 

As so much depends upon food in the accumulation or 
lessening of flesh, I append the following analvsis of the 
principal articles eaten, which will enable the unfortunate 
to know exactly the diet which will best suit them. We 
have, in the different varieties of food, the phosphates, the 
nitrates, and the carbonates. The first makes brain; the 
second makes bone and muscle: the last makes fat. By 
analysis we have the following result : 





Phos. 

parts. 


Nit 

parts. 


Carb. 
parts. 




Pfcos. 

parts. 


Hit 

parts. 


Carb. 

parts. 


Beef, . . 


. . 5 


15 


20 


Corn. . . 


1 


12 


T2 


Mutton. 


2 


12 


40 


Buckwheat, . 


. 1 


8 


15 


Lamb, 


o 

•J 


12 


35 


Barley, . . 


o 
o 


IT 


10 


Pork, . . 


1 


10 


50 


Oats, . . . 


. 3 


IT 


66 


Veal, . . 


. . 4 


16 


16 


Beans, . . 


. 4 


24 


5T 


Salmon, 


. 7 


20 


10 


Peas, . . . 


. 3 


22 


60 


Oysters, . 


. . 2 


10 


10 


Rice, . . 


i_ 


6 


SO 


Codfish, 


. 6 


14 


5 


Potatoes, . . 


. i 


1 


22 


Eggs, . . 


. . 5 


16 





Turnips, 


4 


1 


21 


\Theat, . . 


2 


15 


69 


Cabbage, . . 


. 3 


20 


46 


Rye, . . 


9 


12 


72 


Butter, . . 








100 



By the last item, one may see that it is possible to eat a 
firkin of butter and never get a thought. It, however, 
answers a good purpose, and supplies plenty of carbon. 
When brain force is required, brain food should be eaten. 
When physical labor is to be performed, the food that 
makes nerve and muscle is to be preferred. 



LEAXXESS — TO PRETEXT IT AXD IXCREASE FLESH. 

Many people who are fleshy sigh to be lean, but there is 
a greater number of lean persons desiring to be fat. Many 
lovely women are rendered very unhappy by this deficiency. 



LEANNESS TO INCREASE ELESH. 133 

and do many useless things to recover flesh. Despite the 
fact that the graceful, queenly air belongs alone to the tall, 
lithe and medium figure, they, nevertheless, would be over- 
plump; and I must confess that if I am a judge of the 
tastes of men — barring the purely artistic eye — the ladies 
are fully justified in the longing, for the masculine eye 
seeks the well - rounded form. Sometimes this meagerness 
is confined to particular parts. With women it is in the 
breast; with men in the legs. 

Perhaps of all natural imperfections the most difficult to 
remedy is leanness, so many circumstances — habit, tem- 
perament, mental, moral and physical conditions — conspire 
to keep down flesh. Contrary to obesity, with its usually 
lymphatic temperament, and heedless, easy manner of 
existence, leanness accompanies a nervous - bilious or 
motive - mental temperament. Thin people are very excita- 
ble, lively, easily agitated, and often of extreme sensitive- 
ness. They usually have good appetites, yet sleep but 
little; in fact, the very emotions, habits, desires, occupa- 
tions, etc., belonging to their temperament, tend to diminish 
flesh. A host of causes predispose to leanness; abuse of 
pleasures, abstinence, irregularity of meals, warm cli- 
mates, excessive bodily or intellectual labor, late hours, 
contentions of mind, etc. Lorry said grief was a principal 
cause of it. Melancholy, envious, nervous, restless, ambi- 
tious persons are generally lean. Worrying, mad love and 
jealousy are decided causes — the latter especially so, even 
aside from love. Young people very frequently are known 
to grow thin without any apparent cause, other than 
inherited disposition, but grow fleshy as they advance in 
life. 

10 



134 DE LA BAHTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

Where leanness is hereditary it is less disposed to yield 
to treatment; nevertheless, it succumbs to proper measu: •-■- 
AVhen flesh decreases during apparent health, it is safe to 
apprehend the presence of some disease, which should be 
looked after, and which will usually be found to consist of 
a disorder of the stomach or liver. 

By reference to the analysis, on a previous page, of the 
leading articles of food, the kinds that contain sugar and 
fat or carbon can be selected and used principally; in fact 
a treatment nearly the reverse of that for corpulence should 
be adopted, consisting largely of hygienic methods and 
diet. Adopt a simple, regular life, moderation in pleasures, 
certain hours of labor (never excessive), moderate exercise, 
reasonable hours of rest, quiet, tranquillity, and content- 
ment of mind. Eat abundantly of nutritious food, meat, 
vegetables, and plenty of fat, and, if any, take moderate 
drinks, such as pure wine and beer. Baths, simple and 
emollient, are excellent. Drink three or four quarts of 
cream or milk during each day. It will not be difficult to 
consume this amount after a little time. Drink a quart 
night and morning without faiL and abstain from tea and 
coffee. With some this is more fattening than with oth^: - 
Starch foods are bestj such as farina, tapioca, arrowroot and 
sago, puddings with rich sauces, and pastry containing 
sugar and suet. All acids should be avoided scrupulously, 
with pickles, spiced foods, sour wine, etc. Vegetables 
should be eaten, principally beans, oatmeal, potatoes, etc. 
Fat meat, butter, and salmon will substitute the less palat- 
able but fat producing cod -liver oil. 

It is the kind rather than the quantity of food that pro- 
duces fat, therefore gormandizing is unnecessary. The 



LEANNESS TO INCREASE FLESH. 135 

digestive apparatus should be kept in good condition. 
Sleep plentifully upon a soft bed. One lady says that a 
full, round figure is the result, in her case, in three months, 
of abstaining from tea and coffee, and using a diet of 
cracked wheat, well cooked and served with cream and 
sugar, with the aid of other coarse articles and plentiful 
use of sirup made from granulated sugar. She ate freely 
of corn meal and graham bread. I deem this good. 

In Asia, when fitting girls for "the market," and where 
flesh is an attraction, the mode of increasing it is reduced 
to a science/ Soft beds, much sleep, little exercise and no 
disturbing* thoughts are features. While in the warm bath 
chicken broth, with rice or arrowroot is taken. Upon 
leaving the bath they are rubbed down with scented oils. 
A beverage of honey and water is drank, in moderate 
quantities, daily, and a preparation of the castor bean is 
taken, which keeps the bowels in order and sharpens the 
appetite. Upon the body is used olive oil, boiled with 
gum benzoin, which preserves it and imparts to it a delight- 
ful odor. This application checks the perspiration and 
softens the outer skin. The author who has collected the 
facts regarding the method of fattening these girls, 
and to whom I am indebted, thinks that it is not prac- 
ticable with our dames, but I fail to see why it should 
be successful in Asia and not here, if followed thor- 
oughly. 

Flogging was recommended by Galen and other physi- 
cians, on the theory, I presume, of the old slave dealers, 
who whipped their slaves to make them plump for the 
market, as we are told by old Roman writers. Dr. John 
Bell, treating upon beauty, says: "No doubt such flagella- 



136 



DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 



tion tends to increase the circulation at the surface and 
give tone to the languid muscles." 

Dio Lewis in his book on "Our Digestions," says: "If 
a person wishes to become fleshy he should go to bed early 
and get up late. Must drink water on retiring and at 
rising, and drink a considerable quantity during the day." 



Condensed Hygienic Rules. 



"Cleanliness is next to godliness," is the first rule of 
hygiene. Pure cold water best secures the object, all 
thino-s considered. Moses and Mohammed recommended 
cold water ablutions, and at the present time the devout 
Mussulman says five prayers and performs five ablutions 
daily. Soap is sometimes a valuable auxiliary to water. 
For the face use cold water; for the hands and feet warm 
or lukewarm. Toilet ablutions should be warm in Winter 
and fresh, but not cold, in Summer. Lukewarm water is 
always best for the beauty of the skin. Shower baths are 
beneficial; Turkish baths excellent. In ordinary bathing 
the skin should be dried quickly, and brisk exercise taken 
immediately. Rain or river water is the best for bathing. 
It is always best to add a tablespoonful of aqua ammonia 
or a gill of vinegar. The temperature of the water should 
be from twenty to thirty degrees centigrade. The emol- 
lient and aromatic baths named in my formulas, are very 
beneficial; so also are vapor baths. For ladies I would 
recommend, as refining and soothing, oil or milk baths, and 
the ancient custom of anointing the person with perfume 
essences after the bath. This custom prevails largely 
among the Orientals at the present time. Shampooing is 
useful. 

137 



138 DE LA BAXTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

Arrange the hours of labor to suit the strength and 
health. Work during the day and sleep at night. Seven 
hours' sleep at least are essential. Intellectual laborers 
should be regular in their hours. Those who attend balls 
and theaters are liable to suffer from late hours and attend- 
ant evils. It is as bad to sleep too much as to sleep too 
little. Age, sex, condition and temperament must be 
taken into account. 

Diet is to a certain extent governed by these circum- 
stances. Each person should select such articles of food 
and drink as experience has shown to be most suitable. 
The great difficulty is eating too much and irregularly. 
"Sobriety is health; without health there is no beauty," 
says Cazenave. Avoid alcoholic drinks. Never retire 
hungry nor with an over -loaded stomach. "Leave the 
table with room for more," is a good old saying. Don't 
lunch between meals. Do not take violent exercise im- 
mediately after eating. Moderate exercise is good. Mus- 
cular exercise is always beneficial, promoting health and 
beauty; it accelerates the circulation, and conduces to 
perfection of form and splendid physical development. 
Swimming is always good exercise, especially for the chest. 
Riding on horse - back, walking, gardening, dancing, etc., 
are invaluable. Dancing, I would add, should be in the 
open air, or where the air does not become tainted. The 
crowded salons of to - day reek with loathsome poison, and 
many, many owe a sad, miserable existence or premature 
death to seeds sown in the heated dance, and to colds con- 
tracted by suddenly rushing flushed and warm into the 
cold air. Gymnastic exercises should be, as they now are, 
largely taught in the schools. To them health and beauty 



CONDENSED HYGIENIC RULES. 139 

are largely owing during the earlier years of study. In 
early Greece they constituted one of the three branches of 
the educational system, and the Greeks owe to this the 
perfection of form that has distinguished them from all 
other people. Walking and ordinary housework, reading, 
speaking, and especially singing are simple and good 
exercises. 

Clothing is chiefly intended to protect the body from the 
inclemency of the weather. This should vary according to 
climate and season. The neck should be lightly covered 
as a rule, but never thickly, even in cold weather. More 
colds result from "bundling up" the neck than from any 
other cause. Care should be taken with children in respect 
to this. They should never be allowed to go out with bare 
necks and arms. Keep the breast well covered. The 
head should always be covered in the open air. Never 
sleep in night caps. Be it observed that women are seldom 
bald. This is because they wear light hats or bonnets, 
which as coverings are more ornamental than useful. 
Always keep the head cool and the feet warm; the neck 
cool and the chest warm; but do not, as you value full and 
symmetrical breasts, wear pads or other material to give 
shape to the bosom. This is a source of evil almost beyond 
calculation to the women of the present day, and is the 
indirect cause of much of the debility and suffering they 
endure. The functions of the breast are more closely 
allied to the general health of females than they are aware, 
and to compress and heat them with pads, forms and other 
appliances causes a total derangement of the system, ruins 
health and capacity for the enjoyment of life's pleasures, 
unfits for the duties of maternity, and tends to premature 



140 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

decay. Veils are excellent in preserving fairness of the 
skin; they protect from cold winds in Winter and sun- 
burn in Summer. For a century corsets have been a sub- 
ject of dissension among physicians and philosophers, and 
the condemnation and ridicule they have elicited have at 
length led to the introduction of elegant and perfectly 
fitting styles. They never should be stiff, nor tight across 
the breast. Young girls should never wear them. It is 
always injurious to lace and compress the waist, and always 
will be. (See remarks on treatment of the waist). Many, 
however, continue the habit despite the suffering and 
injury entailed. Shoes with low heels only should be 
worn; they should fit easily and have substantial soles. 
Dress always decently well, and as nearly as possible in 
the prevailing fashion, but never sacrifice health or com- 
fort to fashion. 

Always seek fresh air and plenty of exercise. Do not, 
whatever the rank or position, be afraid of a certain 
amount of healthful labor, either physical or mental, and 
proper exercise and pleasures. To women these remarks 
apply especially, as they are generally averse to labor and 
bodily exercise. If compelled to labor, do not overdo it. 
Moderation in labor and pleasures will always be sug- 
gested by good judgment, and health, long life and beauty 
will reward your efforts. 



The Skik 



The skin is composed of several distinct organs and 
membranes that render it one of the most important parts 
of the human organization. It has ever afforded oppor- 
tunity for interesting study by physicians, and its con- 
struction and functions are supposed to be thoroughly 
understood. It is endowed with exquisite tenderness, and 
is peculiarly susceptible to changes from organic derange- 
ment. It is a complicated organ, and is furnished with 
nerves, pores, glands, blood - vessels, connective tissue, col- 
oring matter, etc. What are called nervous papillae, of 
special and acute sense, ramify and animate the entire 
structure, establishing between it and the muscular system 
a continuous intercourse. The whole is covered with a 
delicate coating that protects it from exterior injury. This 
is called the epidermis, cuticle, or scarf skin, and is usually 
thin and without sensation. It is composed of numerous 
cells which contain the coloring matter. When a blister is 
raised it is the scarf skin only that rises. 

After all the disturbance about the color line that con- 
stitutes such a scar just now upon our body politic, the 
color is only scarf skin deep; beneath this the negro is as 
white as any of us. Freckles, moth spots, moles, and 
nearly all the spots affecting the skin are very superficial, 

141 



142 DE LA BA>Ta's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

being 1 only on this outer skin or epidermis. It is upon 
this a good or bad complexion depends. It is this which 
is affected by the constitutional condition from within, and 
to which we must devote our attention with the resources 
of art as a last resort when nature fails. One of the 
principal functions of the skin is to eliminate all impure 
matters from the circulation. It is continuously employed 
either in absorption or exhalation. Absorption takes place 
mostly at night, and to such an extent that ink or other 
stains upon the hands at night often disappear before 
morning. Ordinary derangements of the system are 
quickly discovered in their action on the skin, therefore a 
fresh, blooming skin depends much upon the general 
health. When nothing occurs to alter the normal condition 
the skin seems to possess life, and to breathe. There are, 
however, very many influences that disturb the harmony of 
its functions. Disease destroys its exquisite tenderness, 
mars its beauty and lessens its usefulness. The complex- 
ion becomes bad, wrinkles and spots appear, blotches, pim- 
ples, moth spots or chloasma and other blemishes present 
themselves. The skin should be better understood by all 
than it is, for while art may do much to conceal defects that 
result from organic disturbances, true beautv can onlv 
come with a healthy system. If the causes of these skin 
alterations were more generally known, simple remedies 
could often be administered with good effect, whereas 
ignorance and disregard of primary conditions leave the 
real cause unsought, while surface imperfections are con- 
cealed by shallow devices. It is a fact to be regretted that 
ladies are so ignorant in some cases as to be unaware that 
sallowness comes from a deranged liver, biliousness, etc.; 



THE SKIN. 143 

that moth spots and other blemishes indicate impairment 
of the uterine organs or the menstrual functions, and that 
to tone these up and restore them to wonted vigor would 
be to change the appearance of the skin. The following 
formulas are not calculated to do more than remove or con- 
ceal surface defects, sustaining a closer relation to cosmet- 
ics than to medicine. However, many are remedial in 
their nature, eradicating the evils they encounter, while 
others are only artificial. All, however, will aid to render 
the exterior attractive. 

Women of the world must learn that art alone is but a 
thin gauze through which the practical eye of the world 
penetrates easily; that its capacity is limited; and that it 
crumbles with the structure, however premature the decay. 
If I build a palace that astonishes the age with its rare de- 
sign and beauty, upon the shore of the Mississippi, whose 
waters each day carry portions of its banks away, does not 
the observer remark that the waters must be walled back 
or soon the edifice must fall piece by piece into the rush- 
ing tide? I may paint, fresco and decorate the time-worn 
walls of a structure, and, while the beholder is yet admiring, 
a sudden wind levels it to the ground, a jumble of crum- 
bling decay and beautiful art : will he not pronounce mine a 
folly unpardonable? The beautiful green foliage of our 
lawn trees turns rusty and falls in mid -summer when the 
borers penetrate them. Ladies may draw their own infer- 
ences. Flabby flesh and muscle, colorless and parched 
skin, fireless eyes, pallid brow, stupidity, languor and ener- 
vation can never be concealed by any process of art suc- 
cessfully, and, however cruel the facts, women who suffer 
under these evils must either remove their causes or eke 



144 



DE LA BAXTAS ADVICE TO LADIES. 



out a miserable existence, drowning their distress in the 
whirlpool of fashionable excitement, until this burning 
stimulant has eaten out the last vestige of vitality; then 
they must go down under the daisies. I wish that these 
pictures would arouse from killing apathy the thousands 
of lovely women in our country who suffer from the 
ravages of easily preventable disease, and lead them to 
adopt some of the practical suggestions I have given. 




STELLA, (Modern Roman Lady). 

144 



The Complexion. 



Beauty of face depends in a great measure upon the 
beauty of the complexion. There are numerous conditions 
affecting it, to understand which should constitute a por- 
tion of each lady's education. The delicacy of the skin 
varies according to the temperament, the avocations and 
habits. There are many with skin so thick that the soul's 
emotions are never traced upon it. With others it is 
transparent, tender, polished, and, as Cazenave says, " acces- 
sible to the modifications produced by the impressions of 
the soul, without being easily altered by emotion." This 
delicacy is peculiarly feminine. A pure alabaster white, 
with vermilion tints, may be said to be beautiful, and when 
set off by a shapely nose, liquid eyes, languid lashes, ruby 
lips, pearly teeth, dark, wavy hair, and pink -tinted ears, 
becomes marvelously so. 

The best means to preserve the complexion is to avoid 
trouble and vexation, which are destructive of the finer 
tints. Learn to meet the world as it comes. Cold atmos- 
phere and cold water are bad for delicate complexions. 
There are many with high color for whom ordinary detri- 
ments possess no terrors. Ruddiness, however, can lay no 
claim to exquisite fineness. There are very intimate rela- 
tions existing between the stomach and the complexion — 



145 



146 



DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 



the mode of living affects the skin, hence the complexion. 
Eating too much injures the stomach and tinges with a 
bluish cast the complexion. The hygienic rules I have 
already given help to preserve the purity and delicacy of 
the skin. The stomach should be allowed an adequate 
supply of food, but the quality should be considered. 
Those possessing high color or who are liable to determina- 
tion of blood to the head should eat plain food, avoid 
stimulating drinks, wines, liquors, etc. These may be 
used to advantage by those of pale cast. Sleeping enough 
but not too much is favorable. In fact purity and beauty 
of complexion depend so much upon the general health 
that I can do no better than to recommend ordinary 
hygienic rules as best for the complexion. 

Those blemishes most disastrous to beauty are wrinkles, 
roughness, eruptions, chloasma or moth spots, freckles, sun- 
burn, tan, sallowness and numerous discolorations from 
constitutional and other causes. The veil is an excel- 
lent protection from climatic and atmospheric influences. 
Pomades, powders, lotions, creams, baths, pastes, vinegars, 
and various cosmetics are and always have been used with 
marked success as means to eradicate, conceal and protect. 
From my vast collection, gathered from all sources, em- 
bodying everything of value handed down from the remot- 
est periods of civilization, as also from more modern 
writers, I have selected those that I can recommend in the 
fullest confidence. They are the originals which great 
numbers of articles bearing similar names in the market 
were designed to imitate. I have given nothing in the 
following pages that will not be found valuable for the 
purpose for which it is designed. 



Cosmetics. 



Down through all the centuries, from the remotest period 
of antiquity, hand in hand with the history and achieve- 
ments of great and beautiful women, has come to us the 
history of cosmetics. Cosmetics are artificial agents used 
to beautify the person. Their proper application consti- 
tutes an art requiring the utmost precision and discretion 
in its development, in order that it be limited to proper 
uses, and not subject to the extravagant indulgences often 
demanded by the caprices of fashion. With the ancients 
it was an important branch of medicine, at times alternat- 
ing between honor and reproach. The Greeks, who were 
great admirers of physical beauty, highly esteemed those 
who cultivated it. Ovid and Pliny devoted no little atten- 
tion to it, and many valuable formulas have been trans- 
mitted through them to us. Socrates, Plato, Zenophore, 
Aristotle, and many other celebrities, of all ages, have 
treated of beauty and cosmetics from various standpoints. 
Aspasia and Cleopatra both wrote complete works on the 
subject, and gave to the world a number of recipes that 
are worthy of preservation and in use at the present time; 
some of the most valuable from these sources are embodied 
in this work. History is replete with incidents relating to 
the various changes in fashions at different periods. Roman 



147 



148 DE LA BAHTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

ladies under the Republic were for a long time subject to 
severe restrictions, their dress for several centuries being 
extremely simple and modest. We are informed that silk 
and linen did not come into use until the time of the Caesars. 
A remarkable change took place under the rule of the 
Emperors, women going to such extremes as to appear to 
forget that clothing was designed to cover their persons. 
The first to adopt the new styles were the courtesans, when 
others were quick to imitate them. Cosmetics also were 
used to extremes by the Roman ladies, the minutest details 
of the toilet receiving particular care. False hair, paints, 
powders, etc., came into common use, and their production 
soon became a special industry, such was the lavish indulg- 
ence in their use. Elegant women spent much of their 
time at the dressing table, until Seneca upbraided them for 
devoting so much attention to elegance, refinement and 
beauty. After the Arabs conquered Spain they introduced 
perfumery and many novelties in cosmetics. 

About the time when cosmetics were at the height of 
their popularity, and held sway in the boudoirs of fair 
women, Albert the Great wrote his famous book of secrets, 
which two centuries later was translated into French. The 
nature of the work, together with the prominence of its 
author, soon enabled it to attain an immense popularity. 
During the Renaissance, we are informed, the use of 
cosmetics ran riot. Cazenave speaks of the many recipes 
preserved by Paracelsus, and mentions Diana of Poitiers, 
who preserved her charms far beyond the age of pleasing, 
by bathing in rain water. Marinello wrote a book on the 
secrets of Italian cosmetics, which were then meeting with 
great success. Many other works upon the subject were 



COSMETICS. 149 

written about the same time. Italian cosmetics and per- 
fumery were much neglected during the reign of Henry IV, 
and became popular again at the Court of Louis XIII. 
They again disappeared in the time of Louis XIV, who 
rendered them very unpopular. They re - appeared, how- 
ever, during the Regency, and to them are attributed the 
elegance, charms and beauty of the women of that period. 
They afterward succumbed to the simple and practical 
tastes and delicate influence of Marie Antoinette. After 
the Revolution of 1789, their use reached a curious extreme; 
such names as pomade a la Sanson, dress a la Guillotine, 
and other singular styles by which compounds were desig- 
nated were indulged in; in fact it is said that all the abuses 
and extravagances that had existed in Greece and Rome 
suddenly reappeared. Perfumed baths were resumed, 
and women were rubbed with a sponge dipped in milk and 
perfumes. 

Habits of luxury and display have ever been accompanied 
by the use of cosmetics, in more or less exaggerated forms. 
It is impossible at the present day to separate cosmetics 
for the skin, bath, hair, etc., from the toilet of any lady who 
makes pretensions to fashionable adornment, elegance and 
good taste. Among the more refined, however, moderation 
characterizes not alone the employment of cosmetics but 
the styles of clothing, which we are inclined to believe 
were never more graceful or imparted a more elegant, 
stately and finished appearance to ladies than at the present 
time. When united to health and physical charms and 
graces, modern accomplishments and taste in dress, a 
moderate use of cosmetics aids the highest type of female 
beauty. 

II 



150 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 



THE SKIN AND COMPLEXION. 

Before giving a list of cosmetics a few explanations are 
required, because some cosmetics act only upon the surface, 
while others penetrate to the blood, and injurious conse- 
quences may follow their ignorant use. 

It is an old saying that every boil one has is worth five 
dollars. The value attached to these troublesome visitors 
explains in a word what I desire now to express. Boils 
indicate a lurking disorder in the blood; if they had not by 
chance discovered a spot somewhere weak enough to allow 
their festering mass to break out, and thus relieve the over- 
charged blood, it must inevitably have lodged in the system 
and soon resulted in serious sickness, possibly ending in 
death. The constitution that is strongest requires the 
greatest amount of poison to break it down, and so when 
the strongest, healthiest people become sick it goes hardest 
with them. Now the blood is ever changing; it is con- 
stantly acquiring and throwing off impurities; it generally 
gets more of these from bad food and air than it can get 
rid of, especially if any of the natural avenues of escape 
are closed, and these are the pores of the skin principally. 
If baths do not come to the rescue, or there be not copious 
perspiration to keep the pores open, the other organs are 
over -taxed and the system is poisoned by constantly 
increasing impurities. If there be no perspiration, as in 
Winter, and no baths, as is the case with nine - tenths of the 
people, and no running sores or eruptions on the surface, 
it may be taken for a fact that festering corruption is lurk- 
ing in the system which, sooner or later, will cause trouble. 



THE SKIN AND COMPLEXION. 151 

Why do I speak of this here? Because so long as a 
woman has a fair complexion, even though she be sickly 
and suffering half her time, she is content, but let a pimple 
present itself to mar her fine, transparent skin and every 
agency is sought until it is removed, no matter though the 
poison thus giving warning is thrust back upon her lungs 
and there becomes seed of consumption. Be it observed 
that consumptive people always have fair, transparent skins, 
the very envy of society's darlings. Now, ladies, in using 
some of these cosmetics you need not wonder if, the first 
you know, a crop of pimples plays havoc with your fair 
countenances. Take it as a warning that your blood is in 
a fearful condition, and let them come; encourage them by 
continuing that cosmetic, and do not try to heal them, for 
they will soon disappear of themselves; whereas, if you 
drive them back you may be laid up very soon with chronic 
disease that will cost you years of suffering if not your life. 
You may ask why they should appear upon the face ; why 
not upon some concealed part. This is why: You have 
not neglected to bathe your face; the pores here have been 
kept open. Besides, you have applied something that still 
further makes this part defenseless. Of all portions of 
the body this is the only one where the blood finds a natural 
outlet for its impurities, and so it forces through here — the 
weakest place — all the poison it- can crowd out, all that 
should have been discharged from the surface of the entire 
body. This scares you. You think yourself poisoned, your 
beauty ruined; you blame the cosmetic, you do not heed the 
warning to seek by baths, good food, fresh air, exercise, 
some simple blood remedies, keeping the bowels open, 
etc., to banish the poison from your system, but plaster over 



152 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

the pores of the last outlet, the face, and drive back the 
enemy. The skin soon becomes fair, but a little while and 
you are sick, broken down and declining, possibly dying. 

This is also the cause of rough faces, these impurities con- 
stantly struggling to the surface of the only free portion 
where the pores are kept open, secretions closing the pores 
elsewhere. The ladies of the Court of George III declined 
to wash their faces, because doing so spoiled their complex- 
ions. Why? They never washed their bodies, seldom 
their limbs, and hence to have washed their faces would 
have been to let out upon their fair cheeks and brows a 
torrent of the seething mass of corruption festering in their 
blood. They were certainly consistent. 

I give here formulas for no cosmetics that are injurious, 
but very many that are exceedingly valuable. Those at all 
questionable in their effects are pointed out as such. 

It can not be denied that the best beautifier is health, 
gained by sun, water baths, plenty of jolly exercise in the 
open air, and keeping the person free from deteriorating 
influences by habit or otherwise. Where health is, beauty 
never fails to come in some degree, and then a discreet and 
skillful use of cosmetics enhances the charm. 

I might as well give in this connection a recipe for the 
complexion, one of the very best to render the skin like 
satin and most likely to bring out eruptions upon the face, 
if humors are in the blood. I do not mean scrofulous 
humors or inherited diseases, but transitory evils that exist 
through improper living. If it is persistently used for a 
few days, however, they will disappear. It is a formula 
highly prized by mountain parties, and is used by both men 
and women. It is as follows: 



THE SKIX AND COMPLEXION. 153 



TAR MASK. 

Tar (best), ... 1 spoonful | Olive or almond oil, . . 1 pint 
Heat the two together in a tin cup set in boiling water. Stir till 
thoroughly mixed and smooth, adding more oil if the compound be 
too thick to run easily. Apply to the face upon retiring, and lay 
patches of soft linen upon the cheeks and forehead to keep it from 
rubbing off. The bed linen should be protected from it by covering. 
The odor is not unpleasant — indeed some receive from it very 
agreeable suggestions of the aromatic pine woods. The mixture 
washes off readily with warm water and soap. This also prevents 
and effaces incipient wrinkles by softening and refining the skin. 

Nothing is better for removing impure matter from the 
system than pulverized charcoal (the French, sold by drug- 
gists, is the best, because the finest). A teaspoonful mixed 
well with honey - water or milk, should be taken for three 
nights successively. A mild purge should afterward be 
taken to remove it from the system, otherwise it would 
remain there, a mass of impurities, retaining all the poison 
collected by it. The action of charcoal is similiar to that 
of calomel, without the evil effects of the latter. Such 
purification should be repeated every three months. Char- 
coal, however, may be eaten at any time at the rate of an 
ounce per day without injury if a mild aperient be taken 
subsequently. I know of nothing better to improve the 
complexion, through purifying the blood, than a free use 
of charcoal. It is especially good in cases of debility and 
wasting disorders. Figs and tomatoes, eaten plentifully, 
keep the stomach healthy. 

The following bath for the skin is one of the best for 
rendering it soft and clear that we have found; it also has 
the indorsement of age. 



154 DE LA BANTA's ADVICE TO LADIES. 



CLEOPATRA'S BATH FOR THE SKIN". 



Tincture of balsam 

of Peru, ... 2 drachms 



Tincture of tolu, . 2 drachms 
" benzoin, 2 " 



Gradually mix these with 1 gill of distilled water, also take 
White wax (melted), . 1 ounce Sweet almond oil, . . 8 ounces 



Spermaceti 



Rose water, .... 1 ounce 



Mix all the ingredients together and beat thoroughly. Apply to 
the skin with a sponge. 

COSMETIC FOR FINE, DELICATE SKINS. 

Bichloride hydrargyria, 2 grains Milk of almonds, . . . £ pint 
Chlorhydrate ammonia, 2 " 

Apply the liquid with a linen cloth. 

This is one of the best cosmetics known for the purpose. 
It is also good for skin slightly farinaceous, or that can not 
bear greasy substances. It is especially excellent for the 
neck, arms and bosom. Lotions should be applied, usually 
at night. 

ANOTHER. 

Rose water, .... I pint i Glycerine, 1 ounce 

Chlorate of potash, . 18 grains 

Mix carefully and use as a lotion. These liquids are used in a 
pure state, and are applied with a very fine sponge or linen cloth. 
Should they irritate, as they may an extremely delicate skin, they 
may be diluted with an equal portion of water. They should at all 
times be used with care. 

BATH LOTION FOR GREASY SKIN INCLINED TO PIMPLES. 



Bicarbonate of soda, . 18 grains 
Distilled water, . . £ pint 
Mix and bathe the face. 



Essence of Portugal, . 6 drops 



Lotions should always be of mild temperature. Elder 
water, weak tea, distilled linden water, milk of almonds or 



THE SKIN AND COMPLEXION. 155 

vireinal milk are excellent to bathe the face with. Some 
persons we meet have a skin dull, pimpled and thick, not 
only affecting- the face but extending to the arms, legs and 
thio-hs, and often painful; others have a pale complexion; 
the latter suffer more in cold weather. For these the fol- 
lowing pomade is excellent. An oily skin may be bathed 
in camphor, which dries the oil, but would parch and make 
harsh a delicate complexion. 

POMADE FOR SPONGY, THICK, PIMPLED SKIN. 



Cocoanut butter, . . £ pound 
White wax, . . . . i " 
Mix and anoint at night. 



Spermaceti, .... 1 pound 



For rough, dry skins, almond oil, gum arabic water and 
cocoanut oil are good; also pomades of cold cream and 
glycerine. 

Many persons are afflicted with more or less roughness 
of the skin, from which they are seldom free. These 
pomades are especially calculated to render it smooth, soft 
and transparent. 

TO REMEDY STIPPLED SKIN. 

Some ladies are troubled with a coarse skin in which the 
oil glands are so large as to give the appearance of a pin- 
cushion with the pins drawn out. It is a difficult task to 
refine the skin in such instances. The affected parts are 
the cheeks and nose. The evil may be mitigated by wear- 
ing at night a mask of quilted cotton wet in cold water. 
Light poultices of bread and milk worn the same way will 
accomplish a like result. Roman ladies used bread and 
asses' milk. This compress requires time and patience — 
perhaps six weeks; but, acting as a mild, imperceptible 



77: :z is. :^:_'« ..:~ ::z z: l_ltlz,~ 

blister, its action is sore, and leaves the skin perfect. 

SiiTl 1 : :: - : : : ■ : ; 7. .1 : .: _ ir-r r: • : 7 1: : - 1 1 f :ir 5 £ : n 



Iikr :: -ir 7«r~ -11 i-a: ii-i 2 jin:: 7 -r 11: 
111:1 : ~ :n £-: - :: — .... ::~r: „~: nm:: ;r_r 2 
7i:ir :_r :::- hi : ■■ .■ ."- M7.-.-.I -1*1:1;: - f - — - z 
:7 : — . :t: 7_:.i is it. :.i Eii;77: ::i„ri: ;. .: [ :::\::i 
■ . ..-' 17 1- 5.1:1 1: :::i;.:.:t- :_t i::~ ':_ :: :_r n7 ; 7: 

7-..: - : -:.::.: r Li : .: ::t .. : ~ 21 r z :t~~ ::' :inr — ::t1. : 1 
ri: :i 11 r *7n - :-ii 1:: :ri:"f 1" -7 

- . . ■- ::i : : '..-I nil: ilk . .. iiziz5 — ::i :_r nni:e 

zl - : il-= '-- '-'■ ■-'- 1 : :: — = '-- 5111. :ii5 11 : 1:: :i :: ::':i 
U=<e nke following : 

.'in:::: "ii: . . . 1 :~i: r :~ t :ii:-f 

Glycerine (fporeX. . . 1 ounce ■ 

. - . ::. 7 : "._ -:■ iif : - _ :i.i: 1 lizi: 77rlii 1 'zrj 

Li :i ::: *— fill - ; - ■ . _ - -'.. 7 : :i :: i7rifC — : -: 

7 7 77 : 7: : : zi 1 :. : rzzzz ~ 7i ::: - - .:.::: : 

11 r :: : 7 :.: . :iii 

7i£r ' l:--n 7:1 T-rryiiiiir. :ir-;ii ?.i~ 2: 
"- :r 77. :77:~z: - 7i:i:-iri ir77:i — :i 1:1-1 i:-7.5 
•:.l rir:::>r :i :ir z:i 21 :.. ::: A~::i :._ 1.11: 11: 
- _ : : 1 i r 1 " = 5 .::::::".: is 2 . :. : z 7 : : : 1 : 1 : : - : ■ 
"t . :l:i::i 7ri :: nz:7::i-r :: 112:1:1;: :::::i 21: 
;. 7 irrirl 7i : .- z 7 . : z 7 :: : :■: rr :n: — 2 : : zz . - 
7 1:: 777 7 i:: :::i 5.-1I25 -777 lj 7 : i: :7 7i:z- 
177.5 7 - :: :7r 25: ; 127 ::.::: :i5 : 



THE SKIN AND COMPLEXION. 157 

iron. Take a small wine glass full before each meal. 
Charcoal may be taken as I have elsewhere prescribed. 

TO DARKEN A PALE SKIN. 

A diet for months on the meal of sorghum seed surely 
gives a rich dark tint to the skin. Few, however, have the 
patience to adhere rigidly to so plain and farinaceous a 
diet. The same results nearly may be obtained by free 
exposure to the genial rays of Old Sol. Don't be afraid of 
the sun. Health and "beauty are in every beam. 



FOR ROUGH SKIN. 

An application at night of cold cream or glycerine, 
removed with fine carbolic soap in the morning, will ren- 
der the skin smooth after exposure to winds or a raw 
atmosphere. If you would avoid the bad effects of the 
sun and wind when going out for a sail or picnic, rub the 
face, neck, arms and hands well with cold cream or pure 
almond oil previous to going out. 

TO RENEW THE COMPLEXION. 

An Italian method, and one Lady Mary Wortley Montagu 
employed to renew and refine the complexion, was a wash 
of vitriol. It was a heroic application. A better, how- 
ever, is muriatic acid sixty per cent, strong, diluted in 
twelve parts of water, which, used as a wash, gradually 
eats away the outer surface skin without serious conse- 
quences, if one has the fortitude to bear it. A good case 
of typhoid fever clears the skin effectually. 

I may add a few old formulas that have been used by 
royalty and the elite of the Old World for many years. 
They are rich enough to have gladdened the heart of a 



158 



DE LA BANTA S ADVICE TO LADIES. 



voluptuous Cleopatra. The first is an invention of Creole 
coquetry used by South American ladies, and is also fash- 
ionable in France. It was known as the 



Extract of cocoa, . 
Oil of noisette, 
Oil of ben, . . 
Oil of vanilla, 
White balsam of Peru, 
Benzoin flowers, . 



MEXICAN POMADE 

32 ounces 
16 " 
16 " 
1 " 



drachm 



Civet, i drachm 

Neroli, | " . 

Essence of rose, . 
Oil of clove flowers, 
Citron water, . . 
Bergamot water, 



i ounce 
i pint 

1 u 



Steep the vanilla in the cocoa butter eight days in a hot place ; 
dissolve the balsam in half a glass of alcohol with the benzoin and 
civet, and add the oil of clove. Mix the essence of rose and neroli 
in the oils of ben and noisette, and beat the whole forcibly together 
in a large marble or china bowl. The quantities may be lessened 
to suit. Dispense with the oil of vanilla if not obtainable. 

The Creole ladies spread this paste upon their bodies, 
which pleasing perfume gives an elegance to their native 
charms. 

Another offering at the shrine of woman's beauty comes 
down through the years, and is known as the 



ESPRIT DE PYRETPE. 



Cinnamon (powdered), 1 drachm 
Coriander, .... 19 scruples 
Vanilla, .... 19 
Clove, 18 grains 



Cochineal, ... 18 grains 

Mace, 18 " 

Saffron 18 " 

Pyrethrum ( spirit ), . 1 litre 



One litre is about equal to seven gills. Let these digest for fifteen 
days, then add 

Orange flower water, i ounce 
Oil of anise, ... 18 drops 
Citron, 18 " 

Mix the ambergris with the pyretre and put the two liquids 
together. Filter after two days. Use as a toilet water. 



Oil of lavender, 


. 9 drops 


Oil of thyme, 


. 9 " 


Ambergris, . 


. 3 grains 



Balsam of Peru, . 1£ ounces 
Cinnamon, . . . . 2£ drachms 

Rue, \ ounce 

Rhatany, .... 4 " 



THE SKIX AND COMPLEXION. 159 

Still another, known to Parisian chemists and the fash- 
ionable world fifty years since, was popularly designated 

EAU DE STAHL. 

Alcohol, 1 gallon 

Rose water, .... 10 gills 
Spanish pellitory (root), 24 ounces 
Galingale root, . . . 14- " 
Tormentil, . . . . 1| " 

Powder the whole and add the alcohol. Shake well and leave to 
macerate six days. Pour off and let stand twenty -four hours to 
clear ; then add 

Essential oil of mint, 4£ scruples | Cochineal (powdered), 2 drachms 

Leave to infuse again for three days, then filter through filtering 
paper and bottle. Use as a dentifrice, for washing the face, or for 
baths. 

ANOTHER. 

The arms may be whitened, freed from hair, and refined, 
by bathing in a hot solution of chloride of lime, strong as 
used for bleaching cotton : 

Chloride of lime, 2 tablespoonfuls | Water, 1 quart 

Bathe the arms in the solution hot as can be borne, daily, for two 
minutes, afterward washing off with vinegar and water, and apply- 
ing sweet or almond oil. 

Let it be done in a warm room with open windows, to 
avoid inhaling the fumes of the chloride, which are dis- 
agreeable. It is said that strong soft soap allowed to dry 
upon the arms will also in time eat away the hair. Care 
should be observed in the use of strong agents lest the 
skin be injured; better take time and not suffer or take 
risks. 

ITALIAN WASH FOR THE SKIN. 

Pumpkin seeds, gourd seeds, cucumber seeds, melon seeds, equal 
parts. Pound together and soften with cream ; then thin to a paste 



160 DS la banta's advice to ladies. 

with milk. Perfume with three drops each of oil of lemon and oil 
of rose. Anoint the face, bosom, arms and neck with this upon 
retiring, and wash off in the morning with warm water. It imparts a 
rare brilliancy to the complexion. 

BESZOIS FOE THE SEES. 

Without exception, this fragrant gum from the sunny 
plains of Sumatra, redolent of virtues sleeping in the 
spices and balms and oils of the tropics, is the choicest for 
the toilet. It is a rare preservative, fragrant and medicinal. 
A little mixed with oil or fat prevents rancidity. I: is 
healing, and renders the skin a spotless white. As a cos- 
metic it should be in the following proportion : 
Tincture of benzoin, . 2 ounces | Alcohol (pure), ... 1 pint 

TO WHTTEX THE SETS. 

A celebrated physician of London has long used in his 

practice for clearing the skin of the "muddy" tinge 

lotions of citric acid. This is simply the acid of lemons, 

which I have elsewhere recommended. Use thus : 

Rain-water, . . 1 pint Otto of roses, . . a few drops 

Fresh lemon juice, 1 wineglass 

Mix and keep in a well corked bottle. 

FOR A SALLOW OR MTDDY SETS. 

Ladies, either blondes or brunettes, whose skin has a 
scrofulous taint, or is otherwise not clear, should wash with 
the following : 



Iodide of potassium, 2 drachms 
Glycerine, .... 1 ounce 

Mix and apply with a sponge daily 



Rain-water 1 pint 



ALMOXD POMADE FOE ROUGH. DET SEES. 



Oil of bitter almonds, 1 drachm 
Fresh butter, ... 4 " 



Lard, 4 drachms 

Mutton suet ... 2 



Wash in rose water and add wax of sufficient quantity. 




i 



r 1 , 



PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER, (Profile). 

160 



THE SKIN AND COMPLEXION. 161 

The milk from the broken stem of coarse garden lettuce 
rubbed over the face at night renders the skin delicate. It 
may be removed in the morning with a solution of 
ammonia. 

Another means of preserving the skin fresh and soft is 
the use of paste masks worn on the face at night. These 
are the best : 

PASTE MASK, TO PRESERVE THE SKIN FRESH AND SOFT. 

Barley flour sifted, . 3 ounces White of egg, ... 1 scruple 
Honey, . . 1 ounce 1 scruple 

Mix as a paste or pomade, and anoint the face at night, removing 
it in the morning with a little soap and water. This preserves the 
freshness of the complexion, and is well worth trying. Oat meal 
also makes a good mask, but is less pleasant. 





ANOTHER. 




Goat's grease, . 


. . 1 ounce 


Sweet almond oil, 


. 2 ounces 


White wax, 


•i-i 


Powdered starch, . 


. 2 scruples 



Mix into a pomade and anoint the face. 

The hardest face may be softened by wearing a mask of 
quilted cotton, wet in cold water at night. A small dose 
of dandelion tea every other night will assist in refining 
the skin. Blondes are liable to eruptions of the skin to a 
much greater extent than brunettes. These can be over- 
come only by keeping the blood pure and in good condition. 
Blondes are also subject to acidulous and bitter sensations 
in the stomach. The best antidote is a dose of ammonia, 
say a quarter of a teaspoonful, in half a glass of water. It 
should be taken night and morning. It serves to sweeten 
the breath at the same time and prevent the decay of the 
teeth. 

When the skin presents an oily, polished appearance, the 
following is good : 



162 DE LA BANTa's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

VIRGINAL MILK. 

Tincture of benzoin, . 1 drachm | Rose water, 1 pint 

It is better to mix all lotions in the evening and leave 
them to dry on the face when applied. In the morning the 
face should be gently bathed with pure water or cologne, 
usino- a linen cloth. 

ROSE POMADE FOR GREASY COMPLEXIONS. 



Acetate of zinc, . . 2 grains 

Cold qream, .... 1 ounce 

Use at nis;ht and moderatelv. 



Essence of roses, . . 10 drops 



Lotions may be applied in the morning if pomades have 
been used the night previous. It is better that both be 
used at nio-ht, however, lotions being moderatelv warm. 



POMADE FOR THE COMPLEXION. 



Oil of bitter almonds, 1 scruple 
Galien cerate, ... 1 ounce 



Spermaceti, 1 drachm 2 scruples 



The following formulas are unequaled for the skin, and 
will overcome all ordinarv ailments to which it is liable : 



Almond oil, .... 5 ounces 
Spermaceti, . 1 ounce 1 drachm 
White wax, .... \ ounce 



COLD CREAM. 

Rose water, ... 1 ounce 
Eao de cologne, . . 2 drachms 
Tincture of benzoin, 18 grains 



ANOTHER. 



Sweet almond oil, . . 5 parts 
TVhite wax \ " 



Spermaceti, ... 3 parts 
Otto of roses, . . . 3 to 5 drops 



Melt together in a shallow dish over a hot fire, strain through 
muslin when melted, and while cooling stir or beat briskly with a 
silver spoon till quite cold and snow white. 

The secret of the finest cold cream lies in beating it well 



THE SKIN AND COMPLEXION. 163 

while it is cooling. Before bottling it is well to rub it 
smooth on a slab of marble or porcelain. 

CUTANEOUS EllUPTIONS. 

The following is excellent for skin disorders or scorbutic 
affections, or where the skin becomes rough from the fumes 
of medicine : 

Sulphurous (not sulphuric) Salt water, 3 parts 

acid, . ... . . . 1 part 

Apply three or four times a day until relieved. 

COLD CREAM A LA VIOLETTE. 

Oil of violets, . . 1 pint i Spermaceti, ... 7 drachms 

Violet water, . . . 1 " Essence of almonds, 5 drops 

White wax, ... 7 drachms ' 
Mix carefully. 

CUCUMBER POMADE. 



Essence of cucumber, . 1 ounce 
Spermaceti, .... 1 " 



Fresh lard, .... 1 ounce 



CAMPHOR ICE. 



Spermaceti tallow, . 1£ ounces 
Sweet almond oil, . . 4 drachms 



Gum camphor (pulver- 
ized), | ounce 



Heat slowly, just sufficiently to melt, stirring constantly. 



MILK OF ROSES. 

Sweet oil, .... 1 drachm 
Essence of bergamot, . 1 " 
Essence of lavender, . 9 grains 
Essence of roses, . . 5 grains 



Sweet almonds, . . 2 ounces 
Rose water, .... 3 gills 
Alcohol, . . 1 ounce 2 drachms 
Windsor soap, ... 1 " 
White wax, ... 1 " 

Mix in pure water and anoint or bathe the face and neck 

GLYCERINE LOTION. 



Orange flower water, . 1 quart 
Glycerine, £ pound 



Borax, 7 drachms 



DE LA BAXTA S ADVICE TO LADIES. 



Bitter almonds. 

Water 

Corrosive sublimate. 



Pounded almonds, 
Rose water, . . . 
Mix well. 



GOWLAND LOTION. 

3 ounces I Salts of ammonia, . 1 scruple 

1 pint Alcohol 4 drachms 

, grains ' Black cherry water, 4 



MILK OF ALMONDS. 



4 ounces 
i pint 



Corrosive sublimate, . 
Carbonate of potash, 



3 grains 
11 " 



VIENNA WATER. 



2 ounces 
i pint 



Rose water, 4- pint 



Almond bran, . . 
Orange flower water. 

Mix and add 
Borax 1 drachm | Tincture of benzoin, 2 drachms 

Mix all together thoroughly. 

QUEEN'S LOTION FOR THE FACE. 

Essence of jasmine. 4 drachms I Vinegar rosat, ... 1 quart 
Essence of raspberry, 1 M I Bitter almonds, ... 1 pound 

Essence of honey, . 1 ounce Water 2 quarts 

Distill the bitter almonds and water, then add the other ingredients. 



Essence of rose, 
White wax. 
Spermaceti, . . 



COLD CREAM A LA ROSE. 

16 grains [ Almond oil, 1 pint 



7 drachms 
7 " 



Rose water 1 



BALM OF THE ORIENT. 



White wax, . . . 
Spermaceti, . . 
Oxide of bismuth. 
Almonds, pounded, 

Peruvian balm. 



1 drachm 
1 " 



i ounce 
2 M 

2 grains 



Extract of orange flow- 
ers or roses, 1 scruple 7 grains 

Essence of roses or 
lavender. ... 9 grains 

Flowers of benzoin, . 1 drachm 

Oil of benzoin, . . 1 ounce 

Oil of poppies, ... 2 drachms 

Dissolve first the bismuth in the orange flower water, then mix all 

together skillfully. If any one liquid named can not be obtained. 

substitute 1 ounce lemon juice. 



Venetian lact. . . . | ounce 



THE SKIN AND COMPLEXION. 165 



CHERRY BALM. 



Black cherry water, 
distilled, .... 1 quart 



Almond soap, . . 4 drachms 
Cucumber pomade, . 3 ounces 



M ix the soap with the pomade and add water by degrees. 

ISLAND BALM. 

Boil gum benzoin in spirits of wine until a rich tincture is pro- 
duced. Fifteen drops of this in a glass of water forms a fragrant 
milk. Bathe face, arms and hands, leaving the preparation to dry on. 

The following- vinegars and lotions are the most bene- 
ficial cosmetics for the skin it is possible to compound. 
They make the flesh as hard as is possible by the use of 
external applications, and render the skin clear, firm and 
white : 

LAVENDER WATER. 

Oil of lavender, . . 4 ounces Rose water, ■£ pint 

Alcohol, rectified, . . 2 quarts 

Like proportions for smaller quantity. 

AROMATIC VINEGAR FOR THE TOILET. 

Camphorated vinegar, . 1± pint | Camphor, 1 ounce 

Mix well. 

ROSE VINEGAR. 

Vinegar, strong, ... 6 gills | Red roses, 1 ounce 

Steep eight days and strain. 

RASPBERRY VINEGAR. 

Raspberries, fresh or dry, 3 pints | Vinegar, strong, ... 6 gills 
Let it steep fifteen days, then strain. 

VIRGINAL VINEGAR. 

Equal parts of pulverized benzoin and white vinegar ; steep eight 
days; drop it in the toilet water and it becomes milky white. 

12 



106 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

Some persons can not bear any rough surface next the 
skin, are unable to sleep in woolen blankets, or to wear 
flannels. Cazenave speaks of a certain professor who 
could wear only female apparel. These afflictions are 
annoying, yet scarcely become diseases. Cleanliness, fre- 
quent baths, the avoidance of such diet as pork, cheese, 
alcoholic beverages, and all that is found to aggravate the 
affection, strict attention to hygienic rules, and use of the 
following preparations will give permanent relief. 

LIQUID COSMETIC 

Brazil dust, .... 1 ounce | Water, 3 pints 

Boil, strain and add 

Cochineal, ... 2 drachms 

Alum, 1 ounce 

Boil again and strain through a fine cloth; apply with a fine 
sponge. 

COLOGNE TOILET WATER. 



Isinglass, .... 6 drachms 
Borax, 3 " 



Oil of jasmine, ... 10 drops 
Essence of ambergris, . 10 " 
Spirits of wine, . . 1 pint 



Bergamot, .... 1 drachm 
Lavender, .... 1 " 

Lemon, 1 " 

Oil of rose, ... 10 drops 

Mix and keep closed in a cool place for two months, when it will 
be fit for use. This for a common toilet water is very refreshing and 
fragrant, and does not leave one scented like a cook with vanilla, 
lemon, etc. 

SPRING TONIC. 

One of the very best and most palatable purifiers of the 
blood, excellent in the Spring of the year to preserve the 
complexion, is composed of 



Spruce bark, . . . . £ ounce 
Hemlock bark, . . . £ " 
Sarsaparilla bark, . . £ " 

Burdock, £ " 

Boil half an hour, strain hot, and add, mixed, 



Yellow dock, ... £ ounce 
Dandelion, . . . . £ " 
Water, 1 gallon 



THE SKIN AND COMPLEXION. 



167 



5 drops | Oil of spruce, 



5 drops 



Oil of sassafras, . . 

When cold add 
Brown sugar, . . . i pound | Yeast, £ cup 

Let stand twelve hours in ajar, then bottle for use. Use freely as 
an iced drink. 

The use of powders and rouges is carried to an extreme 
at the present time. Properly used these are not always 
unattractive. Many in the market are composed wholly of 
chalk because of its cheapness. Alone it scarcely rises to 
the importance of a beautifier of the complexion. White 
lead is much used, but it is very poisonous, and not only 
causes paralysis, and often premature death, but it wrinkles 
the skin and destroys every vestige of beauty that might 
have dwelt there. The following are innocent, and the best 
for using dry : 



ROSE POWDER. 



Essence of rose, 



Rice powder, . . 1 pound 
Lake carmine, . . 2 drachms 

Mix well and spread on the face with a down tuft 



Essence of Portugal, 



PEARL POWDER. 



French chalk, . 
Oxide of bismuth, 



1 pound 
1 ounce 



Oxide of zinc, 



9 grains 
9 " 



1 ounce 



To actresses and singers, and all who find it necessary to 
"make up," we can recommend the following as excellent 
and convenient for immediate use : 

BLANC DE PERLES, FOR THEATER USE. 

Rose water, 1 pint 1 Oxide of bismuth, . 3£ ounces 

Pound very fine and mix. Orange flower water may be used 
instead of rose water if desired. 

ENAMELING THE PACE. 

Despite the advertisements of certain charlatans who 
live by deceiving, there is no such process as enameling 



I'-f DE UL BAXTAS JLDVTCE TO LJLDIJES. 

the face, in the usual acceptation of the term, or as it is 
intended to be understood- There is a process by which 
the face is painted with the poisonous salts of lead, which 
the enameler finds imparts the best effects. These artists 
become proficient in the art of painting. Their method 
is to prepare the skin with an alkali wash, fill wrinkles and 
depressions with a yielding 1 paste upon which the colors 
are laid to the requisite extent, white and red alternately 
until the " enameling w is complete, for which the customer 
pays an exorbitant sum and, we may presume, is satisfied; 
but I hardly think she desires that artist to repeat the 
operation. 

When it is desired to use powders, the simplest and 
finest is the best. Of those in the market — and they are 
legion — rice flour or simple prepared chalk forms the base 
of the greater number; and both are harmless. They are 
sold under varied and high sounding names, as poudre de 
r*k, lily white, mother of pearl, etc. You may econo- 
mize largely by purchasing the rice flour in quantity. 
Magnesia and bismuth are largely used; and, although the 
latter is by some physicians pronounced poisonous to the 
skin, in a large experience in the preparation and use of 
this and all articles used for such purposes, I have failed 
to find any injury that could be traced directly to bismuth. 
Like lead, it has adhesive qualities which render it desira- 
ble. Lead in any form, however, is injurious, and can not 
be used without being, to a greater or less extent, absorbed 
into the system. Its effects are serious, resulting in paraly- 
sis, idiocy and other ills, and not unfrequentry in death. 



THE SKIN AND COMPLEXION. 169 

Powders may be used when picnicking, sailing or driv- 
ing, to protect against dust, sunburn and roughness. Veils 
are no less useful at such times, however. French chalk 
forms the best protection in the line of powders. 

For toilet purposes there are recipes for harmless creams 
and liquids given in this connection, yet acting upon the 
skin much more satisfactorily than powders possibly can. 
In applying powders it is well to first bathe the face with 
some liquid preparation and just before it is dry dust the 
powder over and remove with a handkerchief any surplus 
particles. Soap and water left to dry in the same manner 
forms also a good film to receive the powder. In using 
bismuth one must avoid all coal gases, as these turn it to a 
dirty gray color. Precipitated carbonate of zinc and an 
equal amount of French chalk make an excellent and 
harmless powder. Every lady has her favorite in the list 
of preparations ; it only remains to have them applied 
rightly, and for her to understand what is and what is not 
injurious. 

ROUGES. 

Rouge is the French for red. The various preparations 
called by that name are as essential to the toilet as any 
artificial device, and demand the utmost skill of the prac- 
tical chemist in their preparation. I refer to the manufac- 
tured rouge, both French and English, which is sold in 
shallow saucers, rose en tasse, in pomade, en erepons or en 
feuilles. The rouge en feuilles is a leaf rouge, or laid on 
paper. The erepons are pieces of gauze or silk twisted 
into little rolls and imbued with the coloring matter (car- 
thamine). When these are mounted on wood or ivory 



170 DE LA BAXTa"s ADVICE TO LADIES. 

handles they are termed tampons au rouge. Rouge should 
only be manufactured from one or two articles : either 
cochineal, an insect which feeds on the cactus and yields 
carmine, or from the common plant known as dyers' saf- 
fron or safflower, from which is derived carthamine. Rouge 
vegetale is a name given the latter. A little carmine mixed 
with any of the powders given to whiten the skin affords as 
perfect and natural color to the skin as the manufactured 
rouges, and is cheaper and surely harmless. 

Vermilion should not be used in rouges, as it is a form 
of mercury. It is largely used in cheap rouges. A color- 
ing for the skin quite curious in its action, which is said to 
surpass others in simulating the hue of rosy health, has 
borne the names of schnouda and sympathetic blush. It 
is colorless itself, and produces no effect until it has been 
some minutes on the skin. It is prepared by mixing a 
small quantity of alloxan with cold cream. 

LIQUID ROUGE OF ROSE-. 

Almond oil. ... 4 ounces Rose water, ± pint 

Oil of tartar, ... 40 drops 

Carmine to the proper shade. Different tints may be imparted by 
adding a little pale yellow and less carmine for the soft Greuze tints, 
or a few flakes of indigo for a deep crimson. This is a soothing 
preparation for the skin. 

ROUGE EX FEUTLLES. 

This leaf rouge is made by depositing a thin layer of 
carmine on thick paper. When used, wet the surface of 
the paper with a woolen cloth or fine sponge and rub it 
(the paper) gently on the skin. Its effect is very satis- 
factory. 



THE SKIN AND COMPLEXION. 171 



DEVOUX FRENCH ROUGE. 



Carmine, . . . . £ drachm 
Oil of almonds, . . 1 " 
Mix. This is a dry rouge. 



French chalk, ... 2 ounces 



VEGETABLE ROUGE. 

Cetaceum, . . . . £ pound Spermaceti, .... 1 ounce 
Carthamine rouge, . 2 drachms 

Pound all together, add a little pure water, and let it dry. 

ROUGE DE TOILETTE. 

These rouges are made of various colors by mixing dif- 
ferent proportions of pure carmine with pulverized talc — 
1 to 4 scruples of carmine to 2 or 3 ounces of talc. 

FOR FRECKLES. 

Most of the remedies for freckles are poisonous and can 
not be used with safety. Freckles consist in deposits of 
some carbonaceous or fatty matter under the scarf skin, 
and indicate defective digestion. The diet should be of 
such a nature that the bowels and kidneys will perform 
their functions properly. Daily bathing and much friction 
are essential. Turkish baths, taken occasionally, are good. 
The remedies here given are simple, but sure to remove 
these annoyances in a brief period. 

POWDER FOR FRECKLES. 

Take powdered niter and apply with a cloth saturated with gly- 
cerine three times a day. 

LOTION FOR FRECKLES. 

Sour milk, i pint | Horse radish (grated), . £ ounce 



172 DE LA BAXTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

Let stand from six to twelve hours, and wash the affected parts 
three times a day. These remedies are simple but effective. 

ANOTHER. 

A chemist in Moravia, observing the bleaching effect of 
mercurial preparations, inferred that the growth of a local 
parasitical fungus was the cause of the discoloration of the 
skin, which extended and ripened its spores in the warmer 
season. Knowing that sulpho - carbolate of zinc is a deadly- 
enemy to all parasitic vegetation (itself not being other- 
wise injurious), he applied this salt for the purpose of 
removing freckles. The compound consists of two parts 
sulpho - carbolate of zinc, twenty - five parts of distilled 
glycerine, twenty -five parts of rose water, and five parts 
of scented alcohol, and is to be applied twice daily for 
from half an hour to an hour, then washed off with cold 
water. Protection against the sun by veiling and other 
means is recommended, and, in addition, for persons of 
pale complexion, some mild preparation of iron. 

ANOTHER. 

Saturated solution of borax in rose water is a good wash 
to remove freckles. Apply five or six times a day and 
allow it to dry on. 

A heroic method of removing them is by blistering. 
The freckle is attached to the scarf skin only : when this 
is taken off, the freckle comes also. 

Light blistering applications may be made by degrees 

and freckles effectually removed, but the value of good 

looks must be fully appreciated to create a proper degree 

of fortitude for this process. The following is celebrated : 

Best English mustard (powdered), 1 tablespoonful ; oil of almonds, 
1 teaspoonful; lemon juice sufficient to make a thick paste. Mix 



THE SKIN AND COMPLEXION. 173 

well and spread in a thin plaster night and morning until the skin 
smarts. The skin soon loosens and the freckles disappear. The sur- 
face should then be washed several times a day with a solution of 
borax. 



Lemon juice, ... 1 ounce 
Alum, 1 " 



ANOTHER. 

Rose water, 1 pint 



Clear ox gall, . . . i pound 

Camphor, i drachm 

Burned alum, . . . I " 



FRECKI.ES, TAN, SUNBURN, ETC. 

Borax, 1 drachm 

Rock salt, . . . . . 2 ounces 
Rock candy, ... 2 " 



Mix and shake well several times a day for three weeks until the 
gall becomes transparent, then strain carefully through filtering 
paper obtained at the druggist's. Apply to the face during the day 
and wash oil' at night. 



ANOTHER. 



Strong soap suds, . . 2 gallons I Rosemary, . . . £ pound 

Alcohol, 1 pint 

Keep in a close jar over night. Apply with a linen cloth. 



ANOTHER. 

Pure glycerine, ... 1 ounce Elder water or rose water, £ pint 
Sweet almonds, . . . 1 " 

Grate the nuts, put the powder in a small linen bag, squeeze it for 
several minutes in the rose water and add some perfume to suit. 
Use by wetting the face with it three or four times a day. 

FOR SUNBURN. 

Lime juice and olive oil, Equal parts 

Bathe the parts frequently. 

ANOTHER. 

Steep alder flowers until the strength is extracted. When cool, 
strain and apply to the parts affected. 






174 de la bahta's advice to ladies. 



AH OTHER. 

Oil erf almonds, ... '2 ounces Honey 1 teaspoonful 

Spermaceti, .... 2 " i Otto of roses. . . a few drops 

Melt the spermaceti and add the oil of almonds, and when well 
mixed, stir in the honey. Take from the fire and stir constantly until 
cool, adding the perfume. Apply at night after washing the skin ; 
let it remain until morn::: g 

FOE TAS. 

Sweet milk, 1 gill [ Juice of . . . . . 1 lemon 

Bathe the face from two to four times daily. 

Lemon juice, also horse radish, I have recommended, but 
a more speedy remedy is magnesia wet with clear rain- 
water; stir to a thick mass; spread on the face and let 
remain two or three minutes: wash off with castile soap 
and tepid soft water, rinsing thoroughly. A thin plaster 
spread with tartaric acid acts quickly. 

FOE SALLOW3TE — 

Take something to act upon the liver, and bathe the face 
with the following : 

Wafer 1 gill j Ammonia 10 drops 

Juice of i lemon [ 

Bathe the face two or three times a day. 

discoloeat: 

Spots varying in size, depth and color, are liable to 
affect women at different periods, especially during preg- 
nancy. They are sometimes yellow or brown: frequently 
white; are large or small and deep, and arise chiefly from 
organic affections. In France they are termed masq\ 
The following preparations will aid to diminish them : 



THE SKIN AND COMPLEXION. 175 

POMADE TO EFFACE YELLOW, BLACK, RED AND "WHITE SPOTS. 

Sub-carbonate of soda, 1 drachm Balsam of Peru, . . 2 drachms 
Fresh lard, .... 1 ounce 

This pomade will aid to remove eruptions, freckles, tan, 
light pimples, sunburn, redness, and all discolorations. 
Sulphur baths will also be found excellent; also vinegar or 
carbonate of soda is good to use in baths. 

POMADE FOR BROWN PATCHES. 

Brimstone flour, . . 1 scruple Cold cream, .... 1 ounce 

Anise oil, 2 " 

Anoint the spots on retiring, and wash with warm tea in the 
morning. 

LOTION FOR BROWN PATCHES. 

Ammonia liquid, . 2 scruples ) Essence of lemon, . . 10 drops 
Distilled water, . . i pint j 

Mix and use on retiring. 

FOR REMOVING: LIGHT DISCOLORATIONS AND TO HEIGHTEN COLOR. 

Tannin, 1 drachm Tincture of cinnamon, 18 grains 

Fresh lard, .... 1 ounce 

Mix and wash the discolored spots. 

Salt in a little lukewarm water is a soothing lotion. 
Friction is good; also sulphur baths. 

There is another species of spots which are congenital, 
and which do not affect the skin but the veins. They are 
superficial and variable, usually remain but a short time, 
and require but little attention. They are more frequent 
among persons of light complexion. Constipation is fre- 
quently the cause of them. Vienna water, the recipe for 
which is given elsewhere, is excellent; also the following : 



176 DE LA BAXTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 



VIRGINAL MILK. 

Tincture of benzoin, . 1 drachm | Rose water, 1 pint 

Mix carefully and bathe frequently. 

MOTH SPOTS. 

Patches, mask, morphew and hepatic spots are the 
designations given by physicians to certain indications of 
a diseased condition of the liver. A prescription given is 
a large pill of taraxacum, the extract of dandelion root. 
There are, however, many remedies acting upon this organ. 
In addition, figs, tomatoes, and other seedy fruits should be 
eaten freely. Vegetables and light broiled meats should 
be eaten. Pastry and fried food should be dispensed with. 

TO REMOVE LIVER SPOTS. 

Rub the spot only with 

Elder flower ointment, 1 ounce | Sulphate of zinc, . . 20 grains 
Leave on till morning and wash off with castile soap, after which 
bathe the parts often with 
Citric acid, .... 30 grains | Infusion of roses, . . . -£• pint 

They will disappear within two weeks; then borax and 
glycerine or iodide of potassium in lotion should be regu- 
larly used to prevent their return. 

TO CORRECT REDNESS OF THE SKTN. 

Undue redness of the face, hands and legs is sometimes 
caused by heat, but most frequently arises from debility 
of the minute vessels in the skin. Throua-h their becom- 
ing relaxed the blood accumulates in them. A suffused 
blush affecting the face alone gives rise to impressions 
not always either flattering or just to the sufferer. Espe- 
cially when limited to the nose, too frequent visits to the 



THE SKIN AND COMPLEXION. 177 

side - board are suggested. The cause may be removed by 
gentle friction, cold baths, tonics of iron and bark, ergotin 
and similar drugs. The vessels may be stimulated by 
astringent washes, among which the following is excellent : 

Tannic acid, ... 15 grains | Camphor water, . . 5 ounces 
Dissolve, apply several times a day, letting it dry on the surface. 

ANOTHER. 



Sulphate of zinc, . . 9 grains 
Distilled water, . . . i pint 
Bathe the face frequently. 



Essence of lemon, . . 10 drops 



Sulphur baths are excellent for discolorations of the 
skin, also vinegar. Carbonate of soda used in the baths is 
good. Pure water and a little lemon juice are effectual. 

ANOTHER. 

Mix half an ounce of blanched bitter almonds with half 
a pint of soft water. Make an emulsion by beating the 
almonds and water together, then strain through muslin. 
Bathe the face occasionally with this mixture. Redness is 
sometimes caused by a disordered stomach, or deranged 
liver. When this is the case, it may be remedied by a 
mild purgative, say rhubarb and magnesia, or the com- 
pound extract of sarsaparilla. Avoiding highly seasoned 
food and stimulants, also fasting, will hasten a cure in such 
cases. 

PIMPLES AND ERUPTIONS. 

Excrescences, such as pimples, etc., are very common, 
'ar>d are liable to extend over the entire surface of the 
body. Upon the face they become doubly annoying. 
They arise from various causes, but usually afflict women 



178 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

when a derangement of the menstrual functions takes 
place, also from other internal diseases and organic affec- 
tions, which should first be cured. They frequently appear 
on young girls about the age of puberty, and are not indi- 
cations of ill health; on the contrary, they denote a good 
circulation and functional vigor. They are liable to 
appear also at the other " climacteric " periods. Especially 
should they not be tampered with during pregnancy, as the 
remedies, if internal, may affect another life. They are 
but the result in this case of Nature's subtle processes in 
the act of transformation, which she will right in her own 
good time. The eruptions of the skin are varied in their 
nature; some are dry, covering the surface like scales of 
bran, and cause great itching. Old people are more usually 
troubled in this way, while pimples, or couprose, as the 
French call them, attack those who grow too rapidly, and 
whose blood is charged with impurities from indiscretions 
in diet, etc. The sweat glands, becoming stopped up from 
some cause, inflame, become red and swollen, and pimples 
are the result. If not properly treated, they may disfigure 
the face for years; but, as I have said, they are natural 
under some conditions, and will disappear of themselves by 
proper observance of hygienic laws. Where they prove 
obstinate, they should be treated by medical skill. Those 
upon the forehead and cheeks are most annoying. Another 
kind, commencing at the nose and extending outward, are 
vulgarly termed carbuncles, or "rum blossoms," although 
not, as is popularly believed, the result of inordinate spir- 
ituous indulgence. A flushing of the face and nose at 
meals indicates the approach of this infirmity. A meager 
but nourishing diet, and observance of hygienic rules, 



THE SKIN AND COMPLEXION. 179 

with some simple washes, will give relief in time. If too 
obstinate, some constitutional treatment may be required. 
When recent, spirits of camphor which has contained fresh 
sliced horse radish is curative. 

Hives is an eruption from which some suffer much. The 
skin becomes red and swollen in ridges, as if from 
stings of the nettle, hence the name "nettle rash" some- 
times given this complaint. It has been said to follow the 
eating of lobsters or oysters. Few of the home remedies 
for it are effective. Washing with a lotion of borax and 
glycerine is good. Flannel should not be worn next the 
skin. The diet should be guarded. One pint of cam- 
phor water and one teaspoonful of tincture of red 
pepper, applied as a lotion twice a week, is said to over- 
come it. 

Prickly heat, which frequently affects delicate skins in 
warm weather, may be allayed by a cooling lotion made 
from dilute solution of subacetate of lead, four teaspoon- 
fuls; water, one half pint. Or, baking soda, two tea- 
spoonfuls; water, one half pint. A mixture of vinegar and 
water sometimes relieves the burning sensations. 

Another foe to beauty is the presence, thickly dispersed 
over the surface, of hard, white pimples, varying in size 
from that of a pin head to that of a pea. They are pain- 
less, but very annoying. The eyelids, inside and out, are 
frequently affected. By washing the face daily with soap 
containing tar, or with tar water, a salutary effect is 
produced. To remove them wholly they should be punc- 
tured with an extremely sharp lance and the contents 
squeezed out; no scar will result if the operation be neatly 

executed. 

13 



ISO DE LA BANTa's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

Persons so affected should avoid such food as pork, 
corn meal, buckwheat, coffee, etc. Eat plenty of fruit and 
acids. Bathe often, occasionally in saleratus water. This 
treatment will cause them to disappear. 

For dry, scaly eruptions which cause itching, the follow- 
ing are good : 

FOR ITCRTNO OR BURNING SENSATIONS. 

Rain water, 1 pint | Powdered borax, . . J ounce 

Or equal parts of hyposulphite of soda and . water. Bathe the 
parts several times a day with either of these, which should not be 
wiped off. 

The following unguent is good : 

Bicarbonate of soda, . 2 ounces | Tincture of benzoin, . 1 ounce 
Mix and apply a small portion to the part -while in bed. It will 
afford relief. 

FOR IRRITATIONS. 

Among a collection of valuable recipes, from which I 
select freely, I find the following prescription, which is 
both simple and good. I know of no more valuable article 
for a variety of purposes in the toilet, the sick room, for 
cleanliness and health than carbolic acid. Not until 
recently has its great value become known. 

Carbolic acid, . . 1 teaspoonful | Rose water 1 pint 

The common acid is used, as the pure is difficult to 
obtain. 

FOR IRRITATIONS FROM FLANNELS AND OTHER CAUSES. 

Let the diet be light, observe hygienic precautions, and 
bathe frequently, using the following mixture in the bath : 



Sub-carbonate of soda, 2 drachms 
Distilled linden water, i pint 



Essence of roses, . . 18 grains 



DISCOLORATIONS. 181 

POMADE FOR IRRITATIONS. 

Chloroform, ... 10 grains | Fresh lard, .... 1 ounce 

Exercising in warm weather often causes many persons 
to chafe. For these, and for children also, this powder is 
excellent : 

Powdered lycopodium, 1 ounce | Oxide zinc, . . . . £ ounce 
Mix these and touch the parts chafed with a puff. 

FOR PIMPLES AND ERUPTIONS. 

Powdered alum, . 1 teaspoonful | Water, 1 glass 

Dissolve and use as a wash several times, allowing it to dry on. 
If in two weeks no benefit is derived from this, wash the face with 
strong soft soap at night, and spread over the face a paste made of 
the flowers of sulphur and spirits of camphor. In the morning 
wash this off and rub the spots with glycerine, or almond oil. Sea 
bathing, also baths at the sulphur springs of Virginia or Florida, are 
said to be excellent. Sulphur soap has a good effect. 

LOTION FOR PIMPLES. 



Corrosive sublimate, . 4 grains 
Rose water, .... 7 ounces 
Bathe the face three times a day 



Glycerine, .... 1 ounce 



POMADE FOR PIMPLES. 

Bicarbonate of soda, 2 scruples Spermaceti pomade, . 1 ounce 
Glycerine, . ... 1 drachm 

Mix well; rub over the face, let remain fifteen minutes, then 
remove all but a thin film with a soft cloth. 

FOR HIVES OR PRICKLY HEAT. 

Glycerine, .... 1 ounce Carbolic acid, ... 20 drops 
Rosemary water, . . £ " 

This is good for rough skins, eruptive diseases, ulcers, 
cuts, etc. 



182 DE LA BANTA's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

BIRTH - MARKS. 

Another affection of the skin is a species of spots which 
are congenital, designated e)ivies, commonly called longing 
or birth-marks. These spots are smooth and of various 
shapes and colors, and usually attributed to impressions 
received by mothers during pregnancy. They are not con- 
fined to the face, but affect also the neck, hands and body. 
They are yellow, coffee and wine colored, red, purple, and 
black; when the latter they are usually covered with short 
thick hairs. 

It is estimated that one person in every thousand has 
some mark of this character upon exposed parts. They 
are caused by an enlargement in the minute blood vessels 
of the true skin. It is necessary in removing them to 
destroy these vessels, or reduce their size by shriveling 
them up. "When the artery supplying them with blood can 
be reached, to tie it would serve the end sought; but this 
is seldom possible. Some mild cases have been remedied 
by blistering, removing the scarf skin and applying to the' 
marks plasters composed of ergot or preparations of bis- 
muth; but this is painful. 

They may in some cases be removed by cauterizing, but 
one runs the risk of leaving an indelible scar, possibly as 
unsightly as the spot. Where they are of light color and 
not too large, they may be covered by cold cream and 
powder mixed; also by a paste made of powdered starch and 
oil of cochineal, made to suit the color of the skin, and ap- 
plied thickly. Perspiration, however, is liable to remove it. 

A French surgeon years ago discovered that, by focusing 
the sun's rays with a lens upon those marks, they could be 



THE SKIN AND COMPLEXION. 183 

shriveled up. After being almost forgotten for years, the 
remedy has been revived, and much is claimed for it in 
this and certain skin diseases. I presume by some practice 
and judgment in the use of a sun glass, so adjusted as not 
to burn or destroy the skin, thus leaving a scar, yet shrivel- 
ing the minute blood vessels underlying these spots, they 
can be so reduced as not to be discernible. 

In a work on beauty, to which I am indebted for many 
valuable suggestions and formulas, I find cited a historical 
fact concerning Jules Bernadotte, son of a provincial 
attorney at Pau, a sergeant-major in the French revolu- 
tionary army, and a radical Republican. At this time 
he had pricked upon his hand in India ink the emblems of 
the French Republic, which was to be immortal. When, 
however, the Republic had passed away and Jules Berna- 
dotte was Charles XIV, King of Sweden, instead of 
sergeant-major, these emblems were very annoying. 

Tattooing, however, is more lasting than French repub- 
lics, at least so it proved in the case of the King. But at 
last an ingenious surgeon adopted the following device, 
which proved successful. He took one of the metallic 
powders I have recommended for whitening the skin, 
reduced it to a semi - liquid state, and tinged it with rouge 
to the exact color of the skin. This he spread in a thin 
film uniformly over the marks, and then with an instrument 
formed of many fine needles pricked the skin, allowing the 
paste to enter and form a layer above the carbon. Thus 
disappeared the emblems of the Republic, and the King 
was happy. 

I have mentioned this circumstance in detail, because it 
indicates the only method of concealing birth or "mother 



184 DE LA BANTA's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

marks." The process is simple and safe, and as these 
marks are usually small, it would be both a brief and com- 
paratively painless operation. It can also be extended to 
scars, stains from powder explosions, and other discolora- 
tions. It will last for a long time, but might wear out and 
have to be repeated in years. Ordinary French or Venetian 
chalk, or precipitated carbonate of zinc, with rouge, serves 
the purpose. 

The means so successfully employed in the case of the 
King of Sweden will doubtless prove efficacious in all 
similar cases. 

MOLES. 

These come usually from birth. They are of various 
sizes, level with the skin or raised, and are apt to be 
studded with long hairs. They can be removed by means 
of caustic or the knife, but only to the hands of the 
physician should these agencies be intrusted for this pur- 
pose. Moles with long hairs may be removed by touching 
them with caustic. 

WARTS 

Upon the face can readily be removed by some of the 
means I have given for taking them from the hands. They 
always indicate coarse living, and should be attended to. 

WRINKLES. 

There comes a time in life when beauty, however pro- 
nounced, must fade beneath the heavy hand of years; and 
one of the first indications that old Time is eyeing us is in 
the marks he pencils about the forehead and temples. We 
have a horror of wrinkles, and the heart almost sickens 
when our mirror betrays them. If the province of art 




OPHELIA, (Melancholy Expkkssion). 

184 



-•• 






THE SKIN AND COMPLEXION. 185 

extends at all to beauty, an important branch should be 
devoted to keeping back and dispelling these advance 
guards sent out from the grave. I am free to say that 
while art has done much in all ages toward this, some of 
the formulas I present here having been used in the remot- 
est ages, there remains much yet to do in preventing these 
destroyers of beauty. Age can not be driven off, and with 
it comes a sluggish circulation, cutaneous sensibility 
becomes weakened, vigor lessens, the skin lacks sustain- 
ing power, and the cellular tissues collapse, causing the 
skin to form into furrows or wrinkles. Certain conditions 
and temperaments succumb to this alteration sooner than 
others. Stout people are less inclined to it, as corpulency 
counteracts the influence of passions which stamp them- 
selves indelibly upon those of bilious or nervous tempera- 
ment. The effects of age are frequently aggravated by 
serious illness, and where persons formerly fleshy suddenly 
become thin. Wrinkles also come of excessive grief, con- 
tentions of mind, hard labor, dissipation, etc. 

Various means have been used to remove wrinkles, and 
with some success. It is quite as difficult to banish inci- 
dental wrinkles as those coming with age. I name the best 
remedies known for the purpose. 

LOTION TO PREVENT ROUGHNESS OP THE SKIN AND WRINKLES. 

Turpentine, ... 2 scruples Simple water, ... 3 ounces 
Benzoin water, ... 1 drachm 
Bathe the face and let dry. 

ASP ASIAN REMEDY FOR WRINKLES. 



Sublimate, .... 4 grams 
Hydrochlorate ammonia, 4 " 



Milk of almonds (a little 
thick), i pint 



Mix carefully. This remedy was used by women of the most 
remote ages, and with wonderful success. 



186 



DE LA BANT A S ADVICE TO LADIES. 



LOTION TO EFFACE WRLNELES. 



Sulphate of alumina. . 1 scruple | Pure water, I pint 

Mix and bathe the face three times a day. 

To conceal wrinkles some people still use lead because it 
adheres to the face, despite all that has been said against 
it and the injury it has done. It is sold under the captivat- 
ing names of Mane de perle, blanc cVargent, etc. It not 
only poisons but wrinkles the skin. 



BALM TO DIMINISH WELNELES. 



Benzoin water. . . 1 drachm Alcohol, 1 gill 

White honey, ... 1 ounce 

Let it macerate for eight days, then bathe the forehead lightly. 



Essence of turpentine. 2 drachms 
Mastic 1 " 

Mix and anoint the face. 



POMADE TO CONCEAL WRLNELES. 

Fresh butter, . 



2 drachm; 



Those wrinkles which are found impossible to remove, 
this pomade will effectually conceal : 



POMADE D*HEBE. 

White wax 

Mix to a gentle heat and add 



Juice of lily buds. . 2 ounces 

Honey 2 drachms 

Apply twice a day. 



Otto of roses. 



. 1 ounce 
. 2 drops 



PASTE FOR WRLNELES. 

The skin may be preserved fresh, and the advent of 
annoying crow's tracks and wrinkles be delayed by a simple 
tepid bath in which bran has been stirred, and thorough 
friction until the skin glows vividly. 



THE SKIN AND COMPLEXION. 187 

A Spanish recipe for wrinkles, which imparts freshness 

to the skin, is as follows : 

Boil the "whites of four eggs in rose water and add 

Alum, 1 ounce | Sweet almond oil, . . £ ounce 

Beat the whole into a paste. 

The skin is liable to few more serious disfigurements 
than that caused by scars. They are generally indelible 
traces of ancient sores or wounds. They are more or less 
painful as they vary in extent and form. Frequently they 
alter only the surface of the skin, but sometimes materially 
change the aspect of the face, as in small -pox. Scars 
received in youth sometimes disappear with mature growth. 
With children who have been seriously burned, they fre- 
quently disappear. Scars from burns ordinarily change in 
time to the natural hue of the skin. Pliny says mandrake 
was used to remove scars from the face, and Ovid tells us 
poppies were thus used, but with later generations their 
virtues in this direction are unknown. There are scars so 
deep and marked as to be beyond the power of any art to 
remove them. These, like wrinkles that can not be got rid 
of, must be patiently borne or concealed by the best pro- 
cesses of cosmetic art. Paint has been used as for 
wrinkles, but we can not too strongly denounce it. It has, 
however, been used for ages, only to bring regret when 
too late. 

TREATMENT FOR SCARS. 



Almond oil, ... 2 drachms 
Fresh butter, ... 2 " 
Mix and use as a friction. 



Sulphate of alumina, . 1 scruple 



CREAM TO CONCEAL OR REMOVE SCARS. 

White wax, ... 1 drachm | Cetaceum, .... 1 drachm 
Melt in a warm bath and add 



188 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

Tincture of tolu, . If scruples | Rose water, ... 2 drachms 
Mix and anoint. 

PASTE TO CONCEAL SCARS. 

Oil of cochineal, \ ounce 

Powdered starch enough to make into a paste of a 
proper consistence and of a color to match the skin. This 
can be applied to the scar so as to entirely conceal it. In 
warm weather it is well to add a small portion of the 
white of an egg. This makes it more adhesive and pre- 
vents it melting and becoming detached under the influence 
of perspiration. 

THE FOREHEAD. 

Classical proportion makes the height of the forehead 
equal either the length of the nose or of the lower part of 
the face. Its shape should be oval or square; the skin 
should be the fairest of the face, free from wrinkles and 
irregularities. It should advance at the brow and recede 
above. With the ancient Romans a low forehead was a 
mark of beauty. This is peculiar to northern countries, 
hence the poetic expression, "The low -browed beauties 
of the north." Winckelmann said it was in such marked 
conformity with ideal heads and figures of ancient art that 
its form is sufficient to distinguish ancient from modern 
work. The low forehead is desired by Circassian ladies. 
They even cut their hair so that it falls over the forehead, 
almost touching the brows. Where it is too high they 
cover it with bands to make it low. The forehead has a 
special beauty of its own, and to it is owing much of the 
varied expression of the face. We assuredly can not 



THE EAKS. 189 

deny the majesty attaching to a high forehead, though a 
low one favors a more agreeable expression with women. 
The muscles and skin have a mobility which, through 
effects of the emotions, thoughts and sensations, subjects it 
to wrinkles and contractions that inevitably leave indelible 
traces if unrestrained. With melancholy persons wrinkles 
often come prematurely, but they are more common with 
age. Some foreheads are subject to redness arising from 
divers emotions, such as fear, modesty, shame, indignation, 
etc. Young girls especially suffer much from this cause. 
By looking after the general health it may be remedied. 
My remarks on rush of blood to the head contain beneficial 
suggestions. For eruptions and other affections, the 
treatment for the skin will apply. 

THE EARS. 

The ears should be of moderate size, short and round, 
well turned, set back on the head and firmly attached, 
and of reddish - pink color, especially on the edges. When 
they are too large or ill -formed these blemishes may be 
concealed by arrangement of the hair. (See page 232.) 

The ears often become deformed in childhood by tying 
the hat strings behind them, and frequently by pulling 
them. The latter is a bad and cruel custom, and deserves 
to be rebuked severely. It is ruinous to beauty, and 
graver results often ensue. The habit of wearing jewelry 
in the ears necessitates care and precision in piercing 
them. Pendent ears are thought beautiful in certain coun- 
tries. They are pierced at birth and heavy rings are 
inserted. With the women of the Kingdom of Arracan 



190 DE LA BAXTl's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

this fashion prevails. They pass large rolls of parchment 
through them causing them to rest upon the shoulders. 
The throwing of cold water suddenly into the ear is con- 
demned. The following is from good authority : 

Tl.: — _-:- of the ear does not require cleaning by us. Nature 
undertakes that task, and in the healthy state fulfills it perfectly. 
Her gent for cleansing the ear is the wax. which dries up into thin 
9t -- la oi and falls away imperceptibly. In health the pas- 

sage of the ear is never dirty, but an attempt to clean it will infalli- 
bly make it so. Washing the ear out with soap and water is bad. It 
keeps the wax moist when it ought to become dry and scaly, and 
makes it absorb dust. But the most hurtful thing is the introduction 
of the corner of a towel screwed up and twisted around. This pro- 
ceeding irritates the passage and presses down the wax and flakes of 
skin upon the membrane of the tympanum, producing pain, inflam- 
mation and deafness. The washing should only extend to the outer 
surface, or so far as the fingers can conveniently reach. 

I will add thai inserting an ear spoon or pin in the ear to 
remove the wax often causes great injury. 

TO COIE DEAFXESS. 

Take of hen's oil one gill, and a single handful of sweet clover. 
Stew the clover in the oil until the juice is all out, then strain and 
bottle for use. Put three or four drops daily in the ear and it 
will cure recent deafness. In chronic cases, much relief will be 
obtained if this treatment is continued a sufficient lime. 

Italian and Spanish ladies, after the most attentive toilet, 
tinge the tips and edges of their ears with pink, made of 
a little carmine and water. 

To render the ears lucid, smooth and free from hair, wash 
them everv morning with pure water, adding a few drops 
ot coloffne or. better still, lemon juice. If little hairs 
grow on the ears, never pull them out, but cut them off. 



THE EYES. 191 



THE EYES. 



No part of the body is capable of so much expression as 
the eyes. They are the mirrors of the soul, which reflect 
the thoughts within, and aid largely in expressing charac- 
ter. When they are full of expression, with the lashes 
long and drooping, the angles acute and long horizontally, 
the ball or center full, clear and transparent, with the lids 
covering a portion of the white, they are elegant in the 
extreme. The different shades are more or less indicative 
of traits of character. Some one has enumerated the 
various phases of the female eye as follows : " The glare, 
the stare, the sneer, the invitation, the defiance, the denial, 
the consent, the glance of love, the flash of rage, the 
sparkle of hope, the languishment of softness, the squint of 
suspicion, the fire of jealousy, and the luster of pleasure." 

How often do we hear of the cold blue eye, the hard, or 
steel gray eye, the sharp, or piercing black eye, the warm 
hazel, etc. There is also the dreamy black eye, more 
usually found with lymphatic temperaments, while the 
brown and sharp black are characteristic of nervous - bilious, 
active temperaments, and hot blooded, affectionate, pas- 
sionate natures. In confirmation of the old saying, 
"Beware of a black -eyed woman," I must remark with all 
deference that I have always found it difficult to read a 
black -eyed lady. Like the proverbial flea, she is some- 
what difficult to catch, but once you get her she will keep. 
Really more deceptive is the blue eye : cool, determined, 
apparently sympathetic and open, it is the most treacher- 
ous and deep. The gray eye may be relied upon as most 



192 PZ LA BAZSTA*S ADVICE TO LADLES. 

trustworthy in giving external signs of character. The 
hazel eve also indicates fidelitv. Circumstances have much 
to do with the appearance of the eyes. Habits of labor or 
study, and disease lead to fixed, unnatural and disagreeable 
expressions, squinting, blood -shot and sunken ey^. 

Everv one should be careful of the sight. G-uvon, a 
great writer upon human anatomy and physiology, said, 
" Whoever has received from his God the precious gift of 
strong, beautiful eyes, should carefully preserve them." 
Late hours, incessant study, reading and work, often 
make the lids red and swollen, and bring on tearfulness. 
Excessive labor by lamp, gas, or other artificial light, rub- 
bing, and dissipation, all tend to injure the eyes: also 
fatigue and much weeping cause redness, and spoil the 
charm of expression. Children should not suffer sudden 
changes from darkness to light, nor should their hair be 
allowed to fall over the forehead into the eves. Sleeping 
rooms should not be too dark nor too light. If the eves 
are stickv or gummed together, rubbing is the worst thing 
that can be done. It irritates the lids, reddens the e T ~-~ 
and makes the lashes fall. At such times it is well to 
bathe them for ten minutes in tepid milk and water. If 
quite red wash them several times a day. if sore or swollen 
from fatigue or weeping, etc., wash them with pure water, 
mint tea, and a few drops of alcohol. 

FOR CHROXTC OPHTHALMIA OR SORE EYES. 

After being almost totally blind for over five years, dur- 
ing which time I was treated bv well known oculists of 
Chicago, with no beneficial results, I cured myself by the 
following method, evervthing else I then knew of failing 




PERSIAN BELLE. 

192 



THE EYES. 193 

in my case. Fill a wash bowl half full of soft water if you 
can get it, as hot as your face will bear, place it in a chair 
in front of you, seating* yourself in another. By bending 
over you can bring the forehead and eyes completely under 
water, leaving the nose out. Immerse the eyes thus, keep- 
ing them open, for a half hour twice or three times a day. 
Never keep any bandage upon the eyes, as the injury aris- 
ing from the heat engendered by the application will more 
than counterbalance any good it possesses. Nor should 
cold water be used upon them. 



White vitriol .... £ ounce 
Fine salt, ... J teaspoonful 



INDIAN EYE WATER. 

Soft water, . . . . i pint 
Gum arabic, . . . . i ounce 

Put all in a bottle and shake until dissolved. This will remove 
films, and has never failed. If too strong, dilute a little. Apply 
with a camel's hair brush, or place a drop in the corner of the eye on 
retiring. 

ANOTHER. 

Prepared calomel, . - scruple | Spermaceti ointment, . i ounce 
Mix well together in a mortar, and place a small quantity in each 
corner of the eye, also on the edges of the lid, if inflamed, on retir- 
ing. In the morning wash out with warm water, using a fine linen 
cloth. 

THE LASHES. 

Long, even lashes are indispensable to the beauty of the 
eyes. If by any cause they disappear, much of the exquis- 
ite charm and grace is lost, The hair falls out from what 
is called vitilgo, but its re -growth is not impossible. If 
the hair grows irregularly on the lids, nothing can be done 
but to cut it. This is done with the eye closed. There is 
no way to cause the lashes to grow thick and long because 
of the difficulty of applying remedies. 



194 



DE LA BA2TTA S ADVICE TO LADIES. 



Many ladies are troubled with a greasy secretion that 
lies on the lids, causing the lashes to break or fall out. It 
is quite difficult to remove. The best treatment is to vripe 
away the secretions carefully after sleep. Cold water 
lotions are insufficient, and in using them the hair is liable 
to be detached, therefore we recommend the followino* 
more active lotion : 

Borax 4 grains Black cherry water, . 1 ounce 

Sirup of quinces, . 1 drachm 

Mix and bathe carefully. It is well to anoint the eyes with sweet 
oil, as it is cooling and dissipates the secretions. 



TO BLACKEX THE LASHES. 

Dissolve a bit of India ink (the Japanese is best) in 
water; apply carefully to the lashes, and a very natural 
effect is obtained. It is as good as the M kohol n used by 
the odalisques of the Orient, and less hurtful in its effects. 
Bv darkening; the lashes the brightness and beautv of the 
eye is always enhanced. Another harmless preparation 
which imparts a very natural black is frankincense black, 
made thus : 

Frankincense, . . . i ounce Pitch i ounce 

Re~in | u \ Gum mastic i 

Mix and drop on hot coals. Receive the fumes in a runnel, when a 
black will be found adhering to the sides ; mix this with fresh juice 
of elderberries or cologne and apply with a fine sable pencil. 

THE EYEBROWS. 

The eyebrows to be beautiful should arch slightly, the 
hair be moderately abundant and lie even and smooth. 
Thev should not meet, although we see manv that do. 
Tradition ascribes future prosperity to such persons. Ovid 
claimed this to be an advantage, but it is considered a 



THE EYES. 195 

deformity. It is also believed by some to be evidence of a 
hard disposition. By care the extremes of growth may be 
corrected. The brows are liable to extreme moisture and 
also to dryness, causing the hair to fall out. At the toilet 
they should always receive due attention. They should be 
combed, passing the comb toward the ear. A soft tooth 
brush wet with pure water and cologne dampens them 
sufficiently. When dry, crusty pimples infest them, use 
the following : 

FOR DRY, CRUSTY PIMPLES IN THE BROWS. 

Chlorate of potassium, . 9 grains Water, 1 gill 

Pure glycerine, ... 1 ounce , 

Mix and pass lightly over them with a soft tooth brush. 

To prevent the hair of the brows falling out, anoint 
them with almond oil on retiring, and wash in the morning- 
with tepid water. 

TO PREVENT EXTREME MOISTURE. 

Borate of soda, ... 9 grains I Essence of mint, . . 10 drops 
Distilled water, ... 1 gill 

Wash them two or three times a day. This will also prevent the 
hair falling out. 

TO INCREASE THE HAIR IN THE BROWS. 

Shave them and anoint with a little sweet oil. Should 
the hair fall out, having been full, the following wash is 
productive of much good. 

Sulphate of quinine, . 5 grains | Alcohol, 1 ounce 

This will also restore the eye brows when burned, and is 
excellent for the lashes, applied to the roots with the finest 
sable pencil. 
14 



196 DE LA BAXTA's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

Those having too heavy eyebrows should avoid cutting 
or shaving* them too close. If the hair grows too long, clip 
the ends with the scissors. Heavy brows are an advantage. 

TO RENDER THE BROWS BLACK. 

The simplest method is to touch them with a little black 
of mastic, being careful not to let it stain the fingers or 
skin. The f olio win g is excellent : 

Nutgalls, 1 ounce Ammoniac salt, . . 1 drachm 

Oil, 3 ounces 

Mix and add a little vinegar. Bathe them and let remain on all 
night. "Wash in the morning with tepid water. 

TO RENDER THE BROWS BROWN. 

Lead filings, .... 1 ounce Vinegar, 1 pint 

Iron dust, 1 " 

Boil all together until reduced to half the original quantity. 
Shake it well when cool and wash the brows. 

TO COLOR THE EYEBROWS. 

The black of frankincense and mastic burned together 
colors nicely for theatricals and is not affected by perspi- 
ration. 

TO BRIGHTEN THE EYES. 

There are many cunning and dangerous devices employed 
by ladies of the old world to enhance the brightness and 
expression of the eyes. I may give some of them in this 
connection to show to what dangerous measures the vanity 
of women will sometimes lead them. At the same time 
the warning I give of the peril accompanying their use, I 
am satisfied, will prevent their use to any extent; otherwise 
I should deem it unadvisable to name them. 

One practice to which these rash belles resort is to take a 
quantity, say as large as a grain of rice, of an ointment 



THE EYES. 19? 

containing that deadly poison atropia, and rub upon the 
brows. This gives fullness and a superb mellowness to the 
eye. To obtain fascinating brilliancy they place a single 
drop of that poisonous drug, prussic acid {acid hydrocyan. 
dt'l. U. S. P.) in the bottom of a wine glass and hold the 
glass against the eye for a few seconds. If used too often 
these certainly impair the vision. Another, to which some 
ladies have recourse just before going to a party or ball, is 
ether (aether sulphuricus, U. S. P.) a teaspoonful of which 
they swallow. This, however, is a strong nervous stimu- 
lant and can not be recommended for this purpose, although 
it imparts a sparkling brightness. 

Lump sugar saturated with cologne and eaten just pre- 
vious to going out will brighten the eyes, and dashing a 
spray of soap and water into them has the same effect. 

Spanish ladies squeeze orange juice into their eyes to 
brighten them. 

Certain pungent and volatile perfumes, as the oil of 
bitter almonds (which contains prussic acid), also the oil of 
thyme, brighten the eyes. 

To make the eyes appear full, brilliant and almond-shaped, 
use a fine pencil dipped in antimonial sulphur or Egyptian 
black, or you may use a soft lead pencil, and rub it on the 
lids along the angles of the eye. This was largely prac- 
ticed by Oriental women, whose great beauty was owing, 
in no small measure, to their skill in these little exquisite 
devices. Nor is the regal beauty of some of our women 
at the present time less owing to them, but they are em- 
ployed so deftly as to defy detection. Therein lies the art 
of beauty. It is better to cultivate the expression of the eye, 
control its muscles and not tamper much with it artificially. 



198 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 



THE NOSE. 

Lavater said, " a beautiful nose is never associated with 
a deformed face." A beautiful nose should be regular and 
of equal length with the forehead. In the middle of its 
base a slight line should appear to divide it into two parts. 
The end should not be too pointed, hard, or fleshy, nor too 
long. It should be clearly defined in contour, the nostrils 
slightly dilated but' delicately hemmed. The aisles of the 
nose should be free and open. In this feature is denoted 
a delicacy of sentiment that might, Cazenave says, easily 
degenerate into sensuality. 

Different races have markedly distinct characteristics in 
this feature. The English have a' nose generally cartilagi- 
nous, and rarely pointed; the Jews aquiline; the Tartars 
flat; the Africans thick and short. Incidental causes pro- 
duce marked changes. Redness, from indulgence in stimu- 
lating drinks, is common; this changes to violet when 
exposed to cold. Some persons, and often ladies, are con- 
stantly annoyed with serious redness, which at first comes 
from diet, principally, and internal causes, and after a time 
becomes chronic. There are cases also where the skin 
becomes thin and exfoliated at intervals and appears in the 
form of membranes or layers of onion peel. It is a malady 
that requires long and skillful treatment. Wiping often 
irritates it, causing it to swell. Wiping the nose with one 
hand and pulling it one way thereby, is a frequent cause 
of crooked noses. The other hand should be tried a while 
to fetch it straight. Some have the pernicious habit of 
picking the nose with the hands until it becomes swollen 



the xose. 190 

and inflamed. A linen handkerchief only should be used. 
The noses of children often become flat or turned up by 
allowing them to rub or wipe them. Nurses can not be 
too careful with them. 

An imperfect nose, whether in color, shape or size, is a 
sorry disfigurement. Still very many suifer from it. Im- 
proper diet and indulgence in alcoholic beverages are the 
chief discoloring agents. But the cause may be inherited. 
It is said that Cyrano de Bergerac, a witty French author, 
was possessed at once of a nose of wondrous proportions 
and of extreme sensitiveness concerning the same. Well 
up in the code, jesters soon learned to respect, rather than 
make a butt of this misfortune. At thirty -five, however, 
six challenges and six antagonists dead upon the field, 
attested its provocative tendencies. 

A Mr. Bigg, of London, fits an instrument upon a crooked 
nose which, with compression by a spring, soon brings the 
rebellious feature to its normal position. Notable cures 
are attributed to him. A distinguished surgeon of Paris 
observed that people wearing eye - glasses had long, sharp 
noses. He argued from this that a compression of the 
artery supplying the nose, which he deemed the effect of 
the eye-glasses, would reduce a large, fleshy nose. He 
afterward made a practical test upon a lady of fifteen years, 
whose nasal ugliness was hereditary. He took accurate 
measurements and fitted a spring and pad for compressing 
the artery, which she wore during the night and at other 
times when convenient. In three weeks a noticeable 
change was observed, and in three months her nose was of 
a satisfactory shape and size. 

Those who wear eye - glasses are often troubled with a 



200 DE LA BAXTA's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

callous on the sides of the nose where they press. Their 
position should be changed Polypi, or small pendent 
tumors inside the nostrils, which impart a nasal twang to 
the voice and hinder breathing, can be easily and painlessly 
removed by passing a fine wire around them and sending 
a galvanic current through it. The old, dangerous and 
bloody method of tearing them out with forceps should no 
longer be tolerated. 

Another terror is a disease known as lupus, the wolf, 
because of its fearful ravages when once it fastens to its 
victim. No other malady affecting the nose is so grave, 
no other deformity so horrible, as that which it leads to, 
for it eats away bone, flesh, blood vessels, every thing, 
until the nose is entirely destroyed. 

It comes when least expected, under the simplest guise, 
and to the young and robust, beautiful and healthy women, 
regardless of previous condition. It is taken for a slight 
sore spot, or a tender pimple in or near the nose, and so 
insignifica'nt as to be overlooked. Any sore in the nose 
should be regarded with grave suspicion, and an examina- 
tion instituted; "for," says the English surgeon, Thomas 
Hunt, " if it should prove to be lupus, a brief delay will 
be sure to produce more or less deformity, and the beauty 
of the patient will be irrevocably lost." 

The discharge from the nose should be odorless. Exces- 
cessive discharges never occur in perfect health; it may be 
concluded, therefore, that it is owing to worms, chronic 
catarrh, dyspepsia, or some other serious disorder. Com- 
mon colds in the head or influenza, should be attended to 
at once, as they tend to ruin the shape of the nose if not 
checked. Cold ablutions without and within the nos- 




ROMEO 



AND JULIET. 

200 



THE NOSE. 201 

trils, medicated inhalations, etc., are generally effectual. 
Ozena, an obnoxious disease, which renders the society 
of one thus afflicted unbearable, should be apprehended 
the moment the breath, or discharge from the nose, is 
tainted. Death can not come too soon to her upon whom 
this terrible malady becomes fastened. 

Nature has placed in the nostrils a growth of fine hair 
to protect the inner passages from injurious substances that 
are liable to enter the nose. Frequently these grow long 
and are troublesome. They should be clipped with the 
points of small scissors, and not pulled out. Great care 
should be taken not to injure the bone of the nose or the 
septum dividing the nostrils. 

Another very general affliction comes in the form of 
little black spots or secretions called " black heads." They 
are not peculiar to the nose, as they infest other portions 
of the face, but that organ is most affected by them. The 
nails are poisonous to the nose, and squeezing them is 
injurious, so it is said; but I have found that by bathing 
the face with soap and water, and softening the skin with 
glycerine, they can be readily squeezed out with the nails 
without injury. An application of ammonia prevents their 
reappearance. Avoid unnecessary pomades. Use only 
some lotion or astringent. By using the following prepa- 
rations these spots will soon disappear: 

FOR BLACK HEADS. 

Water, 1 ounce | Ammonia, .... 20 drops. 



Carbonate of soda, . 2 scruples 
Distilled water, . . . i pint 



ANOTHER. 

Essence of roses, ... 6 drops 



:z ii EiVTi'< __ z ~ "z r: ~ ■- ~ t-rs. 

riz: Z liing the parts affected once or 

" "" - - " " . ' - " - ' : ~". i - " : _ . _ ~ "'. ".1 ' " i . - 1 . Tin. 

for kehsfss of tei b -i 
A red nose is an indication of some tumor in the blood 
or bad circulation. Applications of phenyl made each day. 
aided by Eight alterative medicine, is the best treatment. 
I Thick plaster of refined chalk and a third as much gly- 
cerine as water, spread on the affected part, will be found 
: -:'.::: r ii: i~jj '-'-- :-.--- A -" ::z:.z ::' — z:: r rz/is- 
tard taken each morning in water before eating affects this 
favorably, as also rush of blood to the head, which is more 
or less the result of constipation. 

FOB 3FOSE BXEEBES&. 

Roll a piece of paper and press up under the lip. 
Another good remecl : wet a piece of brown pa 

with cold water and place on the back of the neck. 



THE MOFTH. 

Rene Francois, in an argument against beauty, remarked 
of the eyes that they were two bits of broken glass ioca s 
in two little hollows, covered with a little leather £ : 
bordered with little threads. That the cheeks were an 
ivory table slightly arched, covered with a satin skin, with- 
out a wrinkle — a little snow mixed with scarlet, neither 
too full nor too hollow. That a / f Moody flesh 

two made the /*/>#, and ossicles, attached to the cafe 
blood and rooted in the flesh, made the gums, etc . 
thus summing up the substance of facial beauty. Monsieur 
could have gone further; but we have no desire to foil 



THE MOUTH. 203 

him in his dissecting room; we do not wish to gaze behind 
the scenes. If behind the frescoes and paintings in our 
home we know that huge, rough stones and mortar com- 
pose its walls, we will leave them there. We do not 
require to have associated with our impressions such invid- 
ious comparisons. Let the charms of the face present 
what they may to the anatomist, they nevertheless are the 
outward indications of the soul. Like the eyes and nose, 
the mouth is a key to character. However, as a face with 
features seamed and shaped by the thoughts and emotions 
can never lay claim to beauty, a mouth strongly denot- 
ing character can not be called a model organ. 

THE LIPS. 

To be beautiful, the lips should neither be thick nor 
thin, and of incarnate vermilion. When the mouth is 
closed, the lips should meet; when speaking or laughing 
they should open, and display four or five of the upper 
teeth. The mouth should be small, the lips just a little 
pouting, the upper line forming what is called "cupid's 
bow," while the line where the lips meet should compose 
an obtuse angle, with the under lip a trifle raised. A 
slight shadowy furrow should extend between the nose and 
lips. The lips vary, as do other features, with different 
races. W^ith some, especially in tropical countries, thick 
lips prevail. In Guinea, the ladies adopt artificial means 
to increase the size of the lips, but it is the reverse of 
attractive. The skin of the lips is very thin, rendering 
them extremely susceptible to organic derangement, and 
very frequently the atmosphere causes them to chap and 
crack. Pernicious habits have much to do with the lips. 



- - DE LA BASTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

Children who thrust their fingers incessantly into the 
mouth, also thoughtlessly keeping it open, spoil its beauty. 
Many adults have the disagreeable habit of biting the lips, 
which eventually results in their swelling and becoming 
harsh, crusty and scarred. Care should be exercised over 
children, and bad habits checked; and those who bite the 
lips should be compelled to abandon that practice. 

It is possible sometimes, when the lips are thick, that 
compresses will make them thin; and when too thin, suck- 
insr them mav increase their "size, it havins: the tendencv to 
draw the blood and hence nourishment into them. Girls 
scrofulously inclined often find the lips puffing out to 
almost double their usual size, hard and crusty, but not 
always painful. If medical advice be sought in time, this 
may be remedied. It is very difficult, however, in aduk ge, 
to alter the contour and expression of the lips. Those who 
wish to give an agreeable expression to the mouth should 
practice before a mirror, thus learning to gauge the smile 
so as properly to display the front teeth without the gums, 
and should refrain from immoderate laughter, which soon 
causes the face to wrinkle. 

When, as with some, the upper lip turns out with each 
smile or laugh, displaying the red lining and mucous mem- 
brane, very unpleasantlv. a slight surgical operation, ren- 
dered painless bv ether, will remedy the evil. Tumors and 
swellings upon the lips should also be submitted to medical 
advice, as they are sometimes more serious than at first 
supposed. 

No coloring matter, unless of the simplest kind, should 
be put upon the lips, lest it be swallowed. In the use of 
goblets, cups, etc., bear in mind the danger one is con- 



THE MOUTH. 205 

stantly exposed to, and do not use them until washed. 
Serious diseases have been contracted from carelessness in 
this respect. 

The following formulas are certain remedies for all 
transient affections of the lips. 

For dry lips, the following rose pomade is the best known. 

ROSE POMADE FOR THE LIPS. 



White wax, ... 6 drachms 



Alkanet root, ... 6 drachms 
Almond oil, .... 1 gill 



Essence of rose, . . 1 " 
Spermaceti, ... 5 " 

Or like proportions for greater or less quantity. Pound the alka- 
net root fine. Put the wax, spermaceti, almond oil and alkanet root 
in a bowl or earthen pot, and place over a slow fire. When thoroughly 
heated, take off, and let them remain four or five hours to extract the 
color. Strain through a muslin cloth and add the essence of rose. 

FOR CHAPPED LIPS. 

Oxide of zinc, ... 18 grains | Cold cream, . : . . . i ounce 
Mix well. Cold cream alone is good ; also glycerine. 

When the lips suffer from redness and are swollen, apply 
a little warm poultice of powdered rice or potatoes, or of 
bread and milk, changing it frequently. If affected by 
little bluish eruptions that cause soreness, the following 
alkaline pomade is excellent : 



White wax, . . . . £ ounce 
Cucumber pomade, . . £ " 



Carbonate of soda, . . 9 grains 



LOTION TO REMOVE ERUPTIONS AND ALLAY SORENESS AND 
SWELLING OF THE LIPS. 

Tannin, 1 scruple Essence of bergamot, . 6 drops 

Water, 1 gill 

Mix carefully and apply for several minutes with a fine linen cloth. 



POMADE. 



Carbonate of soda, . 2 scruples 
Fresh lard, . . £ ounce 



Balsam of Peru, . . 1 scruple 



20G r>E la basta's advice to ladies. 

Mix and anoint the lips frequently. When inflamed and covered 
with a crust, use the following : 

White precipitate, . . 6 grains ] Cold cream, .... 1 ounce 

Or the following: 

Sulphur sublimate. . 2 scruples Essence of lemon, . . 6 drops 

Turpefh mineral, .1 " j Fresh lard 1 ounce 

Mix and apply at night. 

FOR PALE LIPS. 

Pale lips betray a feeble state of the circulation, and are 
very common with young girls troubled with chlorosis or 
green sickness. Bathing, exercise, tonics and proper diet 

soon remedy this. 

< 

A simple and harmless coloring matter for the lips is 
the "rouge en feuUles" of Monin of Paris. A soft moist 
woolen cloth is pressed on the paper and then passed over 
the lips. This gives them a rosy tint, tolerably durable 
and natural. Rubbing- briskly with a bit of woolen cloth 
or a tooth brush will call the blood to the surface and 
usually the color thus produced will remain for hours. 

FOE FEVER BLISTEBS. 

Touch them lightly with the following mixture every 
few hours and do not rub or scratch them. 

Glycerine, ... 1 teaspoonful ] Otto of roses 2 drops 

Carbolic acid, . 10 drops 

If this is not sufficient to heal them, touch them with 
this solution : 

Permanganate of Potash, 1 grain | Rose water. . . 1 tablespoonful 
Do not dry the lips after this application, but dust with starch or 
fine French chalk. 



THE MOUTH. 207 

A moist and tender spot or sore occurs not infrequently 
at the corners of the mouth. It is difficult to heal, some- 
times crusting over, but breaking out again and proving 
very troublesome. It arises from acidity of the saliva, 
usually resulting from indigestion and heart burn. Rinsing 
the mouth several times a day with a solution of bicarbon- 
ate of soda will give temporary relief: 

Soda, 1 teaspoonful | Water, 1 pint 

Anoint the sores with the following: 

Oxide of zinc, ... 30 grains Otto of roses, .... 1 drop 
Spermaceti ointment, . £ ounce 

THE GUMS. 

The gums contribute much to the beauty of the mouth 
and teeth. From want of care and other causes they often 
become pale, unequal, livid, rough, and inflamed. A bad 
state of the stomach, mouth, and other organs has a bad 
eifect. Powders used for the teeth, and sweetmeats, if not 
thoroughly washed from the gums, are very detrimental on 
account of their chemical decomposition, as they roughen 
the gums and lay bare the teeth. When the gums are pale 
rub them briskly, and bleed them with a tooth -pick, but 
not frequently. Friction gives them a healthy, natural 
color, by causing the blood to circulate. The preservation 
of the teeth depends much upon the care taken of the 
gums, but the treatment does not apply to the teeth. 

THE TEETH. 

" A woman with fine teeth can not be ugly," said Rous- 
seau. Beautiful, even, white teeth, ever attract admiration 
to their possessor. I have seen many persons with other- 



208 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

wise handsome features, whose protruding teeth gave them 
a very unprepossessing appearance. It seems rather an 
infirmity of the jaw than of the teeth; with others the teeth 
lack room and are crowded out, making it difficult to keep 
the lips closed over them. Some have two long, large 
upper teeth, that are continually in sight, often called 
"squirrel teeth." There is no remedy for these misfortunes 
save to keep them in the best condition possible. With 
the present perfection in dentistry, teeth are replaced, so 
neatly as to defy scrutiny, by false ones, which are often 
better than the original, leading many now- a -days to have 
all irregular or discolored teeth withdrawn, and substituted 
with perfect ones. 

Whether false or natural, the same care is necessary to 
neatness no less than to health. The simplest means is to 
brush them morning and night with soap and water and a 
little chalk, magnesia or charcoal. Children should be 
taught to perform this duty as regularly as their ablutions. 
It is better to rinse the mouth and brush the teeth after 
each meal, and always night and morning. Quill or wood 
tooth -picks are the best. Rottenstein said, pass a thread 
between the teeth after each repast. The teeth should not 
be used to crack nuts, and women should not break thread 
with them. Hot or cold water should be avoided; tepid is 
the best. Acids spoil the enamel; even lemons are injuri- 
ous, though ladies rub the peel on the teeth and gums, to 
make the one white, the other red, which, Cazenave says, 
"results in caries, that cruel enemy to the mouth." 

The teeth should be thirty - two in number. The second 
set commences at the age of about seven years, and is not 
completed until the advent of the "wisdom teeth," which 



J, _ ^:^"':>-v: 




MISS G , (Arm). 

208 



THE MOUTH. £09 

does not occur until adult age. If during this growth any 
are observed to be growing crooked, irregular or crowded, 
pressure, or, if necessary, the extraction of one or two 
should be resorted to. Frequently the irregular disposition 
of teeth is owing to parents being too eager to pull the 
" baby teeth." They should only be pulled when ready to 
drop, or the base is damaged. The teeth should be used 
for the purpose for which they are designed. Care should 
be observed, however, as to what comes in contact with 
them. A continued use of acids is liable to injure the 
enamel — the hard, white surface, which is composed of 
lime chiefly; and anything sour corrodes this to the eventual 
destruction of the teeth. Sugar, unmixed with deleterious 
coloring matter, or acids, is not injurious to the teeth. 
Extremely cold or hot water should be avoided. 

Let the tooth brush not be too stiff, as it scratches the 
gums and is injurious. The inner and outer sides of the 
teeth should be well brushed and all the interstices reached, 
that there may be no lodgment of particles of food, which 
soon decay. I give a number of the best preparations 
known for the teeth. 

ENGLISH POWDER. 

Prepared chalk, . . . . £ pound | Pulverized camphor, . H ounces 
Cork tight in small bottles. 

VIOLET WATER FOR THE TEETH. 



Tincture of iris, . . 1 ounce 
Spirit of roses, . 1 " 



Alcohol, 1 ounce 



OPIATE FOR THE TEETH. 



Iris, 2 ounces 

Essence of cloves, . . 5 grains 
Essence of nutmeg, . 5 " 
Essence of roses,- . . .5 " 



Carmine, . . . .10 grains 
Chalk (prepared), . . 2 ounces 

Honey, 2 " 

Sirup, . . . Sufficient quantity 



.1 I>E LA BIXTA'S ADVICE TO ULDLES. 



zzz 



_r. _- . --. 



Essence of rosemary, . . i pint | Camomile root ounce 

Steep and strain. Mix the elixir with doable the quantity of 
water to rinse the month. 

7. : z : ~z zza:zzzzv^ :z zzz zzzzz 

Pure muriatic acid, 1 ounce I Honey 2 ounces 

er. 1 

Mix. Wet a tooth brush freely with the mixture and briskly rub 
the black teeth. In a moment they will be perfectly while. Imme- 
diately wash out the mouth that the acid may not act upon the 
enamel of the teeth. This should be used but once in several months, 
or as the teeth become black again. 

z:z :zz;z:"- t.-ztzzz 7 . zz . :■: zzz zzzzzz 

Dissolve borax, ... 1 ounce | In boiling water, 1* pints 

~- ::".: zii 
Tincture of myrrh. 1 teaspoonful i Spirits camphor. 1 tablespoonful 
Bottle for use. At bed time wash out the mouth with water, then 

-•;■'_ :. - : :: :•: : :z rirzsl iiTzj '-.-. .'zrzz :: ±.-_ ::iz :..z : ^.:i_z 
rubbing briskly. Repeat each night until the end is attained. 



Oil of mint, ... 18 grains I Alcohol, £ gill 

Z::.z>. . T ri" 

M ix with water and use a brush. 



?■: •" _ _--. 



?::::;:::.': :_.. -,'..i. 1 ;: z.:z ". 

Iris powder, .... 1 ** 
Pass it through a sieve. 



Powdered starch, . . £ pound 
Sulphate of quinine, . 1 scruple 



-rJ" ' zzzz. 



Iris, 1 ounce | Precipitate chalk, 4 ounces 

Borax powder. ... i Myrrh, i «« 



THE MOUTH. 211 



ANOTHER. 

Peruvian bark, . . . £ ounce Iris powder, .... 1 ounce 

Charcoal, £ " 

After using powders rinse the mouth with lukewarm water. 

TORIAC'S POWDER. 



Sugar, 1 drachm 

Cream of tartar, pul- 
verized, 1 scruple 



Carbonate of lime, 1 drachm 

Magnesia, 2 " 

Essence of mint, . . 1 drop 



ENAMEL TOOTH POWDER. 



Sulphate of quinine. . 1 grain 
Lake carmine, .... 1 " 



Volatile oil of mint, . 2 drops 
Coral, pulverized, . . 1 ounce 



PERUVIAN POWDER. 



White sugar, ... £ drachm 

Magnesia, 1 " 

Cream of tartar, 1 

Sulphate of quinine, . 3 grains 

Powder and mix carefully, adding four drops of the oil of rose or 
mint. 



Mace, 2 grains 

Cinnamon, 6 " 

Carmine, 5 " 



TOOTH WASH. 

Where teeth are inclined to decay, the breath fetid and 
the gums tender, either of the following is good : 

Honey of roses, . \ teaspoonful | Water, ... 1 wineglassful 

Or, 
French brandy, . 1 teaspoonful | Water, .... 1 teaspoonful 

Or, 

Tincture of myrrh, . 1 ounce Water 1 ounce 

Compound tinct.cinchona 1 " 

These washes should be used several times a day. 
15 



212 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 



TOOTH PASTE. 

White Castile soap (dried Sepia in powder, . . 1 ounce 

and powdered), . . 1 ounce 

Mix to the consistency of paste, with fresh rectified honey, and 
add a few drops of oil of teaberry (gaulfheria). This should be used 
only occasionally, the sepia wearing the enamel. 

FOR TOOTHACHE. 

So long as ladies will persist in attending parties and 
entertainments, lightly clad, going out of heated rooms 
into a chilly or damp atmosphere, sitting in draughts, etc., 
they will suffer from colds, neuralgia and toothache. Some 
antidote therefor is necessary. The following may be relied 
on. It is a prescription of an eminent physician. 

ESPRIT ODONTALGIQUE. 

Alcohol, 1 ounce Opium (in powder), . 20 grains 

Oil of cloves, .... 80 drops 
Apply to the affected parts. 

The list of dentrifices, powders, washes, etc., is inter- 
minable. I give, therefore, those most used. 

Health and all the essentials to beauty and agreeableness 
demand that decayed teeth be removed if the decay can 
not be arrested. They are unsightly, poisonous, and spoil 
the breath. 



THE BREATH. 

There is nothing more unpleasant than a bad breath, and 
it is one of those things of which the persons afflicted are 
often least aware. Over sensitiveness, too, on the part 
of friends leaves them uninformed. This offensiveness 



THE BREATH. £13 

arises chiefly from the stomach, the teeth or the lungs; it 
is however caused by an affection of the throat or nasal 
passages, and diseases of the head, as catarrh. Improper 
diet, especially onions, cabbage, boiled dinners, etc., ren- 
ders bad breath almost chronic with some. With others it 
arises from slight derangements of the stomach. That 
from catarrh or defective teeth is the most repulsive. I 
know of nothing that will disenchant a sentimental lover 
more thoroughly than to encounter for an hour badly 
tainted breath from the cherry lips of his Melinda. Of all 
things, ladies, let a sweet breath be united to your other 
charms. 

There are numerous remedies for infected breath; the 
simplest is pure water for cleansing the mouth and teeth 
when the affection is local. If from the stomach, or head, 
or teeth, a scented wash or tonic is better. When from 
the diet simply, a few grains of coffee or cassia buds, fresh 
nuts or orange flower tea are excellent. Cloves, cardamom 
seed and allspice are too suggestive of tippling bars for 
ladies' use. Coffee grains overcome the odor of spirits or 
food and are not unpleasant. Or the afflicted may chew a 
piece of licorice root or Canada snake root {asarum C ana- 
dense — JJ. S. P.); or powder, and make into lozenges. The 
following are the best remedies I have found, and may be 
employed in all cases of bad breath with happy results 

LOZENGES FOR THE BREATH. 



Powdered coffee, . . 1£ ounces 
Gum Arabic, Sufficient quantity 



Vegetable charcoal, . . \ ounce 

Vanilla, \ " 

Powdered sugar, . . . I " 

Make them of about 18 grains each. Take five or six a day 
The breath will become sweet. 



214 1>E LA baxta's advice to ladies. 



COSMETIC FOR THE BREATH. 

Chloride of soda, . 6 drachms Mint water or spearmint tea* 1 gill 

Brandy, 1 gill 

Mix, and take a few drops occasionally. 

ANOTHER. 

If the breath be offensive from decayed teeth or secre- 
tions of the mouth, the following is excellent. Should it 
stain the teeth slightly, the discoloration is readily removed 
by the tooth brush or sponge. It does not injure but pre- 
serves the teeth, and prevents toothache. 

Permanganate of potash, 1 grain | Rose water, 1 ounce 

Rinse the mouth well every few hours. 

ANOTHER. 

"When the breath is offensive from a foul stomach, and 

resembles the smell of stale eggs, take 

Ckoride of lime, ... 3 grains ] Water 1 wine glass 

This should be swallowed several times a day, and the diet con- 
fined to simple, easily digested food. 

Charcoal eaten freely corrects this unpleasantness. This 
may be taken in the form of burnt toast. Another remedy 
is a draught containing 20 grains of bisulphite of soda. 
It may be taken twice a day. A few drops of peppermint 
essence will conceal its taste. 

GARGLE FOR THE BREATH. 

Chlorate of lime {paw- J Distilled water, ... 2 ounces 

dered) 3 drachms | 

Reduce the chlorate with a glass pestle and mortar. Divide the 
water into three parts, pour out part, on the powder, stir and pour 
off; do the same with the other two parts, then filter what is poured 
off. To this add : 



Alcohol, 2 ounces 

Volatile oil of roses. . 4 drops 



Perfumers' essential oil, 4 drops 



THE HAIR. 215 

Dissolve the oils in the alcohol. Half a teaspoonful of the solu- 
tion in a wine glass of water should be used each time as a tooth 
wash and gargle for the mouth. 

PASTILLES FOR THE BREATH. 

This compound is said to not alone disguise an offensive 
breath, but to attack its cause, arrest decay of the teeth, 
and neutralize the acidity of the stomach. 

Chlorate of lime, . . 7 drachms Vanilla sugar, ... 3 drachms 
Gum Arabic, ... 5 " 

Mix with warm water to a stiff paste, roll and cut into lozenges. 

Madame Celnart declares that husbands addicted to the 

use of tobacco may relieve their afflicted partners of the 

obnoxious odors they compel them to endure, by the use 

of the following;: 





LOZENGES FOR SMOKERS. 




Citric acid, . . . 


. 2 drachms 


Essence of vetiver, 


14 grains 


White sugar, . . 


. 2 pounds 


Musk in grains, . . 


. 4 " 


Essence of roses, . 


. 5 drops 







Mix into a paste ; put a little solution of adraganth gum in the 
water and color it. Let it become hard, then cut at will. 

If ladies who must indulge in the fragrant and tearful 
onion would avoid emitting the most abominable combina- 
tions of odors, let them eschew cloves and spices. This 
indulgence once saved a very worthy young lady the further 
affliction of the writer's presence. It will prove success- 
ful in all such cases, but should only be thus used. 

THE HAIR. 

There never was a time when the hair was not considered 
an ornament to the person. The histories of all peoples 
are replete with its praise. Solomon, no less a lover than a 



216 DE LA BA-VTl'- AI'VI.Z FO T.AHJTKS^ 

kingr, sansr of raven locks. Catullus wrote of the srolden 
sses of Berenice: Apuleius praised the ebony locks of 
the beautiful Photes, and Horace made famous the black 
hair and eyes of Lycidas. The mythologies tell us that 
Bacchus, the ideal beauty of antiquity, wore golden hair. 
Circe, the celebrated enchantress and u daughter of the 
Sun." was represented with hair ardent as the rays of that 
luminary, by Orpheus, who painted her picture. Achilles, 
Meleager, Menelaus, rare types of beauty, were blondes. 
Xjircissus, the handsome favorite of Apollo, was a "pale, 
melancholy blonde.' - The Egyptians and the Arabs, on the 
other hand were loud in their dispraise of yellow hair. With 
the Romans it was in high favor. Messalina, it is said, hid 
her beautiful black hair beneath a blonde wig. If we 
accept traditicr is, usually street, possessors of golden hair 

rie hiorhlv favored. Descending to our time, we discover 
no less importance attaching both to color and arrange- 
ment. Each decade witnesses marked changes, but the 
mode does not confine ladies to any single style. Abund- 
ant hair most assuredly adds majesty and dignity to the 
human physiognomy. It is said by a prominent author, 
that u it relieves and surrounds happily all that is attractive 
and beautiful in a female face; even for old age it is one 
of the most forcible reasons for respec:." 

As with color, so with the styles of arrangement. <_ 
nave cites the Hibernians as letting their hair grow, and 
"using it to wipe their hands upon after ignoble repasts 
To be beautiful, is - .rested by the enlightened tastes of 
I - lay, the hair of a woman must be abundant in silk 
waw tresses, and either black, brown, auburn or blonde 
in color. Red hair is highly prized by artists, perhaps not 




ENGLISH BLONDE, (Flowing Hair). 

216 



THE II Alii. 217 

less than it was by the ancients. The features, color of 
skin, external traits and marks of temperament always 
suo-o-est the color of hair that best harmonizes with the 
tout ensemble. 

The artistic eye is delighted with free, flowing curls; 
however, popular modern taste seems to favor the beautiful 
stvles in vogue, and certainly the elaborate coiffure weaves 
many entrancing meshes about the susceptible heart. It 
is difficult to invest our goddess of beauty with other than 
heavy, glossy, languid tresses flowing to her feet. (See 
page 216.) The artists of the middle ages have given 
us their ideals of seraphic beauty with hair drawn smooth 
and tight, with stiff, harsh lines framing the face, as one 
author says, " with not a single wave to relieve its immova- 
ble sanctimoniousness," the result of a deluded belief in 
the severer creeds. 

Gray hair comes to some early in life, but is generally 
the result of trouble, sudden fright, excessive labor, dis- 
sipation and kindred causes. It is said that the hair of St. 
Valier turned suddenly gray on learning that his daughter, 
Diana de Poitiers, had become the mistress of the King. 
We are told by Adrian that a gentleman of the court of 
Louis XIV. was surprised in the garden with a maid of 
honor, and upon being sentenced to death as the penalty, 
his hair turned white during the night. There are many 
similar instances on record. I was personally cognizant 
of a case where the hair and eyebrows of a little girl turned 
white in a few hours from fright, caused by two intoxicated 
men entering a school room, where she was in attendance, 
and assaulting the lady teacher and pupils. Prematurely 
gray hair, as with that of age, is not unbecoming. In this 



218 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

hurly-burly age of driving business and fast living, evi- 
dences of premature decay, gray hair and baldness, are 
not infrequently met with. 

Baldness results from similar causes. It is often heredi- 
tary, but may be produced by excessive study, grief, or 
labor. It should not result from age short of fifty years. 
We should avoid giving way to sorrow, as much as possible, 
so long as we are assured that injury will ensue. Debility, 
extreme suffering, or confinement in a dark, damp apart- 
ment, will cause the hair to become white and to fall out. 
Very many causes tend directly to injure the hair, not the 
least of which is bad usage. Ladies use hot irons to curl 
and crimp the hair : this destroys its electric properties, 
dries the scalp, diminishes the secretions, makes the hair 
coarse, harsh and brittle. But I incline from observation 
to the view of a lady writer who, contrary to most others, 
claims that it is carelessness in manipulation rather than 
a result of the heat or crimping. She says : " If it is killed 
— pulled out by the roots, or broken by frizzing — the 
blame is due to carelessness, or ignorant dressing. Very 
hot irons may be used by wrapping manila paper around 
them. The French coiffeur never allows the hair to come 
in contact with the iron, but first wraps it in papillotes and 
then pinches it with the irons hot as possible without 
scorching it." Metal crimping pins are not as good as 
rubber, as they rust. New and very good devices are now 
in use. It is very injurious to do the hair up tightly, it 
strains the scalp, weakens the roots, hurts the bulbs, splits 
and breaks the hair. The coiffure may be arranged ele- 
gantly, and without straining or injury, by loose braids, 
bands and frizzes. (See page 16.) At night it should be 



THE HAIR. 219 

taken down, combed and brushed out, also in the morning; 
then rolled up loosely, allowing the air to circulate through 
it. With this treatment it may be knotted a portion of the 
day with no evil effects. Many persons with a fine head 
of hair, from fancy or custom, constantly resort to tonics, 
dressings, and even restoratives, under the impression that 
they are preserving it, when, in fact, they are doing more 
to produce baldness than to prevent it. In numerous 
instances those preparations are pernicious, and do 
infinite damage. Another almost universal habit prevails, 
principally with men, of wetting the hair with cold water. 
The comb and brush are sufficient in all cases where the 
hair is vigorous. A thorough brushing strengthens the 
roots, invigorates the scalp and imparts freshness and bril- 
liancy. By wetting, the hair becomes still drier and more 
liable to break. Fine heads of hair have been preserved 
through a long life time by simply using the brush and 
comb. However, there are washes, tonics, restoratives, 
dressings, oils and pomades, that are beneficial where arti- 
ficial stimulants are needed to assist the secretions and 
restore a normal condition. Ammonia imparts a healthy 
stimulus and is one of the best washes that can be used, 
quickening the growth when all else fails. Those whose 
hair is naturally oily should abstain from the use of oils or 
pomades. Brush briskly morning and night, and use the 
washes I have given. One hundred strokes with the brush 
each time are none too many. 

To keep the head clean and preserve the hair, the comb 
and a stiff brush are simple and effective means, and should 
never be neglected. Many mothers make the mistake of 
cutting their daughters' hair in second youth, believing 



DE LA BA> ~ 1 : TO LADIES. 

that it will be better for it. Hair seldom attains the same 
thrifty growth it would if not cut at this period. Some of 
the finest growths of hair have never known the scissors. 
It is also bad to shave the head when, from illness or other 
causes, the hair falls out. Often at certain seasons when 
the hair of children is too abundant, so that it begins to 
fall, particular care is needed; at such times thorough 
cleaning, combing and brushing are necessary. Of the use 
of fine combs upon the heads of children one author says : 
" The barbarity of the fine comb should be abolished in 
civilized nurseries. * * A child's head is too 

tender for any rasping process. 5 ' It is well to clip the ends 
occasionally-; it may also be thinned out. If cut off it had 
better be shaved. This should occur only with children 
when it becomes too fatiguing or falls too rapidly. Every 
lady should clip the ends of her hair once a month to remove 
the forked ends which stop its growth. Again I say, do 
not have recourse to patent nostruins to promote its growth. 
Cleopatra recommended bear's grease to make the hair 
grow. I believe it an extremely difficult matter to cause 
the hair to grow on a perfectly bald head. Lorry said. 
u It is a rare thing to see a man entirelv bald recover a full 
head of hai: . Women, being so seldom afflicted thus, will 
see no cause for anxiety in this. I am confident, however, 
that many cosmetics will accomplish what is desired of 
them — that they will have a salutary effect in prevent- 
ing the hair falling, also in restoring it, but there are 
ises where Nature only can secure the desired ends. Pliny 
cites numerous cosmetics used among the Romans. Some 
contained in our list were in common use centuries ago. 
Bears oil, the best in use to - day, was as much used then. 



the ham:. 'i'Zl 

and for ages before even Cleopatra suggested it. Myrtle 
baths were said to prevent baldness. Dyeing the hair as 
a means of rejuvenating has always been in vogue. It is 
said Medea was a common practitioner in the art. With 
the ancients, popularity usually focused on a single color, 
instead of several, making it "the rage." Dyeing was 
therefore carried to greater extremes than in modern times. 
When golden hair was the fashion, the most extraordinary 
prescriptions were formulated, such as a compound from a 
crow's liver; swallow's dung, and other equally absurd 
things were used. Many injuries arise from a careless use 
of strong dyes, though these are frequently exaggerated. 
A lead comb will poison the hair and scalp if used con- 
tinuously. Some dyes for gray hair turn it purple. Those 
with black hair, desiring blonde, succeed often in coloring 
it only a brick red, or a pale yellow, and ruining the hair. 
However, all colors of the hair are so much admired in this 
age, that dyeing is seldom resorted to save to conceal the 
effects of years. Since, the custom of powdering the hair, 
prevalent in the last century — a harmless practice — the 
natural colors are mostly worn, which is wisely consistent 
with good taste. Where the hair is lost beyond remedy, 
the defect may be concealed by wigs. Good taste, how- 
ever, suggests that the color worn be suitable to the age of 
the wearer, though often we meet aged persons with wigs 
that indicate not half the years they seem to have. This 
is an outrage upon harmony and appropriateness, and only 
excites adverse criticism. It is better that women resort 
to the devices of false switches, braids, head- dresses, etc., 
to conceal partial baldness rather than to the woven wig, 
than which nothing artificial is more repulsive. 



222 



DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 



We have devoted considerable attention to the hair 
because of its important relation to beauty. Without it, 
the latter may be said to scarcely exist. For it, its posses- 
sor can be none too grateful, nor bestow upon it too much 
attention. As a summary, let me say for all difficulties 
affecting the hair — discover first the cause. If it be dis- 
ease, treat the system for its removal first, then use some 
of the accompanying recipes to promote regrowth. Never 
cover the head, more than is necessary. Women are sel- 
dom bald, because of the lightness of their head coverings. 
Indians, likewise, until they began to ape their white 
brothers, never knew such an affliction. Africans, on the 
contrary, with their predilection for the bandanna, surpass 
every other people in the number of bald pates. 

An absurd, unhealthy and abominable custom, mostly 
confined to women, but now happily becoming extinct, is 
that of wearing a night -cap. I candidly think it just 
ground for divorce, where a man has the misfortune to 
marry a lady addicted to this habit. Reasonable attention 
to the rules of health, keeping the system vigorous, toning 
the skin, and the use of the following prescriptions, should 
preserve the beauty and luxuriance of the hair through 
life. 

OIL FOR RENDERING THE HAIR SOFT AND BRILLIANT. 

Oil of tuberoses, . 2 drachms 
Oil of orange flowers, 2 " 
Essence of almonds, 1 drop. 



Bear's oil, . . . 


. 2 ounces 


Oil of vanilla, . 


• • V " 


Oil of jasmine, . 


. 2 drachms 



ANOTHER. 

More simple, and almost equally good, is the following, 
and both, especially the above, are excellent to clean the 
hair as well as to impart luster and softness : 





THE 


EIAIK 


Almond oil, 


. li ounces 


Esse 


Beef marrow, 


. . 2 





Essence of lemon, 



223 



1 drachm 



WASH TO PREVENT SECRETIONS AND REMOVE DANDRUFF. 

Chlorate of potash, . 2 scruples | Rose water, J pint 



ANOTHER. 



Borate of soda, 
Essence of rose, 



Oil of bergamot, 
Oil of cedrate, 
Lemon juice, . 



2 scruples 
18 drops 



Distilled water, 



i pint 



SCHNEIDER'S POMADE. 



1 grain 
. 1 scruple 
1 drachm 



Extract of quinine, 2 drachms 
Tincture of cantharides 1 " 
Beef marrow, . . 2 ounces 



Mix well, and after having washed the head well with pure soap 
and water use the pomade. 



CLEOPATRA'S OIL. 



Essence of lemon, 
Oil of palm, . 
Oil of almonds, . 



Castor oil, . . 
Almond oil, . 
Liquid potassa, 



2 drachms 
2 " 

4 ounces 



Pure marrow (beef ), 4 ounces 
Essence of cloves, . 4 grains 
Essence of bergamot, 1 drachm 



CIRCASSIAN CREAM. 

1 pint Essence of bergamot, 

4 ounces Oil of cloves, 
3 drachms Otto of roses, . 



10 drops 
10 " 
12 M 



SUBSTITUTE FOR BEAR'S OIL. 

Bear's oil, scarcely procurable in a pure state, may be 
substituted by an article equally powerful, which is found 
in the purest and freshest quality of sperm oil. This is the 
basis of most genuine restoratives. It is good if used 
alone. It is said to be procured in its freshest quality only 
when imported from the north coast of Europe. 

ANOTHER. 

Castor oil, .... 4 ounces | Alcohol, 2 ounces 

Or sufficient to cut the oil. Perfume to suit the fancy. 



T^4 PE LA BAXTa's ADVICE TO LAPIES, 

Where pure bear's grease can be obtained it is the best 
oil for the hair known. Where a particular oil can not be 
procured, substitute another of similar nature. 

TO REMOTE GREASE FROM THE HATR. 

Wheat bran, dry. . . 1 pound | Iris powder, .... 2 ounces 
Pass through a sieve. Powder the hair at night, brush it next 
morning, and use a fine comb. Put in little scent bags it is excellent 
to wear under the arms. 

MACASSAR OIL — TO PRE" Z: 7 THE HATR FALLTXG OUT. 

S rax liquid, . . . 2 drachm ^ Z—nceof roses, . . 1 drachm 

Z—riice of thyme. . . 2 ■ I Goose oil, 4 " 

Baku of cocoa, . . 2 " I Oil of turnsole, . . 3 ounces 

Z - - riice of neroli. . . 1 M ' Peruvian balm, . . 11 grains 

Let all the ingredients remain in a moderately warm place. 

LOTTOX TO PRETEXT GRAT HATR- 

Sulphate of iron, . . 18 grains | Bed wine, 2 ounces 

Boil and let cooL Use twice a week and let it dry on the head. 

TO RESTORE GRAT HATR. 

B .raroflead, . . . i drachm ] Rose water 4 ounces 

Lac sulphur .... 1 u 
Mix welL 

'THER- 

Sulphuret of potassium. 5 grains Tincture acetate of iron, 1 ounce 

Glycerine, i ounce ] 

Mix well and let the bottle remain uncoTered that the odor from 
the potassium may pass out, then add a few drops of otto of roses 
or ambergris. Rub a little into the hair daily; it will restore its 
original color and benefit the scalp. 

POMADE TO PRETEXT BALD>"7 — 

Peruvian balm. . . . 8 drops - et almond oil, . 2 drachms 
nee of bergamot, .6 I Beef marrow, ... 6 u 

ct of quinine. . 1 scruple 
Mix "w ith care and anoint the head on retiring. 




LADY CAROLINE LAMB. 

224 



THE HA1K. 225 



ANOTHER. 



Prepared beef marrow, 4 drachms 
Rum, 2 



Precipitate of sulphur 
in a hydrate state, . 1 drachm 



Mix aud aromatize with balm of tolu. 

ANOTHER. 

A British consul at a foreign port discovered through a 
servant who trimmed his lamps, that petroleum would pro- 
duce hair on man or beast. The servant had the filthy 
habit of rubbing his oily hands upon his bald pate. In 
three months he was possessed of a finer hirsute covering 
than ever. The consul thought it of enough importance to 
report upon, and not only did it help the human head, but 
restored to cattle and horses the hair that had been lost 
through an epidemic disorder. It demands a thorough trial. 

TAR WATER FOR BALDNESS. 

The following is highly recommended: 

Soft water (boiling), . . 1 pint | Tar, .... 2 tablespoonsful 
Stir thoroughly and set away to cool ; then strain through a thin 
cloth and bottle for use. 

To cause the hair to retain its luster and curl, there are 
several cosmetics, termed fixateures or bandolines, among 
which the following are the best: 

Adraganth gum, . . 2 drachms | Water, 1 pint 

Steep six hours, then strain through a muslin cloth and add 
Rose water, .... 10 drops | Alcohol, . , . . . 3 ounces 

FLUID FOR CURLING THE HAIR. 

Gum arabic, .... 1 drachm | Water, hot (not boiling), 1 quart 

Borax, 2 ounces , 

When the ingredients are dissolved, add 3 tablespoonsful of spirits 
of camphor (strong). Upon retiring wet the hair with the prepara- 
tion and roll it in twists of paper, as usual. 

16 



226 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

It is absolutely impossible to cause perfectly straio-ht 
hair to grow in curls, but the above will curl any hair all 
that can be desired. 



Olive oil, 1 pound 



ANOTHER. 

Quince seed, 1 ounce 

Simmer in one quart of water forty minutes. Strain, cool, and 
add a few drops of some perfume. Bottle and cork tightly. 

ANOTHER. 





ANOTHER. 


Origanum oil, . . 


. 1 drachm 


Olv 


Rosemary oil, 


• U " 





Gum tragacanth, . 1| drachms 
Rectified spirits, . . 1| ounces 



Water, \ pint 

Perfume to suit, . . . few drops 



Let stand for a day or two and strain for use. 



ANOTHER. 



Iceland moss, . . . . i ounce | Water, 1 quart 

Rectified spirit sufficient to preserve it. 



ANOTHER. 

Dissolve a small quantity of beeswax in an ounce of olive oil, and 
perfume to suit. This will hold the hair in curl. 

ANOTHER. 

Take five cents worth of gum arabic, and add just enough boiling 
water to dissolve it. When dissolved, add sufficient alcohol to make 
rather thin. Let stand over night, then bottle to prevent alcoholic 
evaporation. Do the hair up in papers and apply this preparation, 
it will keep it in curl. 

HAIR RESTORATIVE. 



Borax, 1 ounce 

Lac sulphur, 1 " 



Alcohol, 1 gill 

Aqua ammonia, . . . £ ounce 
Sugar of lead, ... 1 " 

Let these articles stand mixed for fourteen hours, then add 



THE HAIR. 227 

Bay rum, 1 gill { Essence of bergamot, . i ounce 

Soft water, 3 pints | Fine table salt, 1 tablespoonful 

This preparation will make hair grow upon bald heads in 
all ordinary cases. Will turn gray hair to a dark color and 
impart a beautiful gloss. It is simple and the best. 

wood's hair restorative. 

Sugar of lead, . . 2 drachms Rose or soft water, . . 1 pint 
Lac sulphur, . . . 4 " 

Mix. This is said to be the same as Gen. Twigg's hair dye. It 
simply restores the hair and does not dye. The cost is trifling. 

another. 
I find it given authoritatively by one author that the oil 
of mace is one of the most powerful stimulants and restora- 
tives for the hair. It is used thus : 

Alcohol (deodorized), . . 1 pint | Oil of mace, . . . . £ ounce 

It is said not to fail to renew the hair where it will grow 
at all. Pour a spoonful or two into a saucer, dip a small 
stiff brush into it, and brush the hair briskly, rubbing the 
preparation well into the roots. On bald spots, after smart 
friction with a piece of flannel until the scalp glows, rub 
the tincture in. Repeat this process three times a day for 
weeks. When the hair begins to grow apply the prepara- 
tion but once a day until well grown, bathing the head 
in cold water every morning and brushing briskly to 
attract the blood to the surface. 

TO PROMOTE REGROWTH. 

First remove the disease, then use the following : 

Unguentum cantharides, 1 part | Lard, 8 parts 

Anoint the scalp twice a week, rubbing it thoroughly in with a 
linen cloth until the scalp is quite red. Do this in the evening, and 



228 DE la banta's advice to ladies. 

dip the head every morning in a basin of cold water, and do not 
wipe, but allow to dry gradually. 

TO RESTORE THE GROWTH OF THE HAIR. 



Rosemary oil, ... 4 ounces 
Olive oil, 4 " 



Nutmeg oil, . . . a few drops 



HAIR INVIGORATOR. 



Alcohol, 1 pint 

Bay rum, 2 " 



Tincture of cantharides, 1 ounce 
Carbonate of ammonia, i " 

Castor oil, 1 " 

This will promote the growth and prevent the hair falling out. 



Where the hair is falling out faster than it comes in, dip 
the head every morning in two quarts of cold soft water, 
first adding a teaspoonful of ammonia. This stimulates the 
scalp and aids the growth. It will tend to make the hair 
harsh, but the following dressing will remedy it : 

Spermaceti, melted, . 1 ounce | Best glycerine, warm, . 4 ounces 
Mix and add 30 drops of citronella, or bergamot, or otto of roses, 
to the liking. 

ANOTHER. 

Tinct. sulphate quinine, 4 ounces | Aromatic tincture, . 4 ounces 

TO RESTORE COLOR. 

Bathe the head in a weak solution of ammonia, as follows: 

Carbonate ammonia, 1 teaspoonful | Water, 1 quart 

Wash the head with a crash mitten or towel, brushing the hair 
thoroughly while wet. 

ANOTHER. 

Rock salt, 2 large tablespoonfuls | Water (boiling), . . 1 quart 
Pour the water on the salt and let stand until cool before using. 

To prevent the hair falling or turning gray, dissolve 
epsom salts in spring or soft water, and apply with a small 
sponge freely. 



THE HAIR. 229 



BLACK DYE. 

Nutgalls, \ ounce | Oil of wax, .... 3 ounces 

Boil till the nuts break, then add 



White wax, .... 1 drachm 
Cloves, 1 scruple 



Basalt, 1 drachm 

Gem salt, 1 " 

Pulverized alum, . . 1 

Boil it for a second time for five minutes, then strain. 



ANOTHER. 



Cream of tartar, . . 2 drachms 
Acetate of silver, . . 2 " 



Aqua ammonia, . . 4 drachms 
Lard, 4 



ANOTHER. 

Lemon juice, . . . . i ounce Litharge (powdered), . i ounce 

Vinegar, \ " 

Boil a half hour over a slow fire in a porcelain lined vessel. 

Wet the hair with this preparation and it will soon turn 
black. 

LOLA MONTEZ' HAIR DYE. 

Acetic acid, .... 1 ounce Gallic acid, .... 10 grains 
Tincture of iron, ... 1 " 

Dissolve the gallic acid in the tincture of iron and add the acetic 
acid. 

Wash the hair with soap and water and apply the dye by 
dipping a fine tooth comb in it and thoroughly combing 
in order to color the roots. Let it dry; then oil and brush. 

This is said to be instantaneous and as harmless as any 
mineral dye. 

FRENCH HAIR DYE. 

A harmless and jet black dye, without the bluish metallic 
tinge accompanying the use of most mineral dyes, is the 
following: 



230 DE LA BAXTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

Melt in a bowl set in boiling water : 
White wax, .... 4 ounces | Olive oil, 9 ounces 

When melted and mixed stir in 
Powdered burned cork, 2 ounces 

Cover the shoulders to protect the clothing, and apply the prepa- 
ration as pomade, with old gloves, and brush thoroughly through the 
hair. The color changes at once. This is a fine dressing as well. 
To impart a brown tint, steep an ounce of walnut bark, tied in coarse 
muslin, a week in the oil before boiling. The bark can be had of 
druggists. 

HAIR DYE. 

A harmless and speedy dye is the water in which potatoes 
with the skins on have been boiled. It is also used for 
the eyebrows. It should be applied by dipping a fine comb 
in the dye and combing until the hair is thoroughly wet. 
If it be not satisfactory repeat the application with a 
sponge. The shoulders should be well protected to avoid 
stains, and the hair exposed to the sun out of doors, which 
will set the dye. 

TO COLOR THE HAIR BROWN. 



Nitrate of silver, . 7 drachms 
Sulphur of potassium, 7 " 



Rose water, .... 7 ounces 
Water, 5 " 



Apply with the aid of a fine comb, and avoid touching the skin. 

It is an excellent dye, but the smell is somewhat dis- 
agreeable. The powder to color brown has no unpleasant 
odor. 

POWDER TO DYE BROWN. 



Solution of potash, . 2 drachms 
Litharge, .... 2 ounces 



Slacked lime, .... 1 ounce 
Starch, 1 " 



Make a homogeneous powder. Make then into a paste with clear 
water and apply to the head with a little brush. Cover the head with 
a silk night - cap, and at the expiration of six hours wash the hair. 



BLONDE HAIR DYE. 



Acetate of iron, . . 2 drachms 
Nitrate of silver, . . 2 " 



Bismuth, .... 4 drachms 
Water of plantain (dis.),l gill 



Mix. Bathe the hair after removing all the grease. 



THE HAIR. 231 



ANOTHER. 

Rhubarb, 5 ounces | White wine, .... 3 gills 

Boil them together until reduced to half the quantity. Strain and 
wash the hair and let dry. Repeat the application several times or 
the color will not be sufficiently definite. 

GOLDEN HAIR. 

Dil. nitro-muriatic acid, 20 drops | Distilled water, . . 1 ounce 
Perfume with anise or rose oil. Apply and let dry in the sun if 
possible for some hours. 

GOLDEN HAIR POWDER. 

Take saturated solution of alum and color bright yellow 
with turmeric. Allow it to crystallize, then reduce to a 
coarse powder. 

BLONDE DYE. 

Acetate of iron, . . 2 drachms | Nitrate of silver, . 2 drachms 
Mix, and bathe the hair after removing the grease. 

TEMPORARY GOLDEN POWDER. 

Procure a packet of gold powder of a hair dresser. Make 
a very weak solution of gum water and apply it to the hair 
by means of a perfume vaporizer, then shower over the 
hair the powder. This does not come off during an even- 
ing party, dancing, etc., and is elegant. 

HAIR POWDER 

Powdered starch, . . 1 pound | Oil of roses, ... 10 drops 
The starch should be first sifted through muslin. 

CRYSTAL POWDER. 

Is made of glass dust from factories, or powdered crystal- 
lized salts of different kinds. 



232 DE LA BAXTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

TO BLEACH THE HATR. 

It is no doubt a folly to attempt to change the color of 

the hair unless it be to restore it, except by use of the 

brush and comb, and simple pomades, washes, etc. Yet 

there are those who do not think as we do, who desire to 

resort to the most unwise process of bleaching. This is 

frequently done, and has been a feature of the ladies' toilet 

for all time, though by different processes. The following 

are recommended: 

Oxalic acid (strong), . 1 ounce | Water (boiling), .... 1 pint 
Pour the water on the acid, and as soon as it becomes cool enough 
not to burn the hands, wet the head with a sponge dipped in it, not 
soaking the hair but thoroughly moistening it. In five minutes 
there will be a change; if not, repeat the wetting, allowing the acid 
to remain so long as it does not burn the skin. 

The effects are more speedily realized by holding the 
head in the bright sunlight, over steam, or over a register. 
The hair may come out to some extent, but the process is 
not painful. No garments should be worn that you would 
not have soiled, as all these preparations have acids that 
eat the strongest fabrics. The skin also should be pro- 
tected by oiling along the part of the hair and the crown, 
removing the oil from the hair with a soft cloth; also the 
eyelids and brows, to prevent the acid attacking them: 
and the face and shoulders might be similarly protected. 

Venetian ladies used to saturate their hair in caustic 
solutions, such as muriatic acid, and sit in the sun all day 
to bleach it. 

A method of modern use is to cover the hair with a paste 
of powdered sulphur and water, and to sit in the sun for 
hours to secure the desired effect. A paste of bisulphate 




SWEDISH LADY. 

232 



THE HA IK. 233 

of magnesia and lime is said to bleach the hair effectually, 
but great care must be exercised lest the skin and hair be 
burned. So soon as it commences to smart thoroughly, it 
should be washed off in three waters, using lemon juice or 
vinegar in the last to neutralize the alkali. 

These bleaches are used and recommended to bleach ash- 
colored or light, uncertain hair, but I think to undertake 
the task with dark is extreme folly, and a long and tedious 
process. 

DEPILATORIES. 

Abundant hair is an indication of physical vigor, and 
where it does not encroach upon the domain of white and 
pink it is a desirable possession. Too often, however, cer- 
tain conditions exist which cause a superfluous growth upon 
the upper lip, between the brows and upon the forehead. 
Usually this is due to the use of salt meats, fish, ham, 
pastry, brine pickles, and other coarse and old-fashioned 
foods that contribute rather to solidity and strength, than 
to delicacy and purity. 

It is difficult to remove superfluous hair, save by dilute 
acids or caustics patiently applied. Plucking out the hair 
with tweezers as fast as it appears is safe, but requires vast 
patience; this is the Indian method. The following depil- 
atories are the best known. Those sold in the shops are 
caustics and should be avoided. Muriatic acid slightly 
reduced will destroy the hair. It should be applied with 
a sable pencil. To prevent the hair growing bathe the 
part often with strong camphor or clear ammonia. The 
latter is of itself a depilatory, but is painful and should be 
washed off quickly. 

Roman ladies used tweezers patiently and persistently, 



234 DE la banta's advice to ladies. 

but this is painful, and unless skillfully done is ineffectual. 
Often two hairs spring up where but one grew before, and 
if they are broken off they grow coarser and more thrifty. 
A mild and perfectly safe remedy is a paste of fine wood 
ashes, which destroys the hair. A paste of caustic soda 
produces the same effect. It should be left on so long as 
it can be borne, and then the alkali washed off with vine- 
gar, and sweet oil rubbed on to soften the skin, which 
becomes harsh. 

ANOTHER. 

Spread upon a piece of thin leather equal parts of gal- 
banum and pitch plaster. Apply to parts where it is 
desired to remove the hair, let remain three minutes and 
pull off suddenly. This brings the hair with it, which is 
said to not grow again. It is doubtless momentarily pain- 
ful, but women are brave in the cause of beauty. 

ORIENTAL RUSMA. 

A preparation to remove superfluous hair long used in 
Eastern harems was the rusma. It was long a secret, but 
is now known to be composed of 
Arsenical iron pyrites, . 1 ounce | Quick lime, . . . . £ ounce 

These were combined in a fine powder. Madame Cel- 

nart gives it thus: 

Quick lime, .... 2 ounces Orpiment and red arsenic, 1 ounce 
Alkaline lye, .... 1 pint 

Boil together, trying from time to time to ascertain when strong 
enough. Touch the parts covered with hair, and wash with cold 
water. 

T do not recommend these, as arsenic in any form is a 

deadly poison, and injury might ensue. There are others 

as good and perfectly harmless. 



THE ARMS AND SHOULDERS. 235 



CREME DEPILATOIRE. 

A harmless French preparation is given: 

Rye starch, .... 1 drachm 
Sulphate of baryta, . . 1 " 
Juice of purslane, . . 1 " 
Mix the whole with oil. 



Juice of acacia, . . 1 drachm 
Juice of milk thistle, . 1 " 



ANOTHER. 

An excellent depilatory is made as follows: 

Strong lye, made from ashes of wormwood, 2 fluid ounces ; quick 
lime, 2 ounces; almond powder sufficient to make into a pomatum. 
Apply to the hairs to be removed and wipe off with a towel in a lew 
seconds, so that it shall not injure the skin. 

THE ARMS AND SHOULDERS. 

Madame Roland said, " Few women know the full import- 
ance and value of their beauty until they have lost it. If 
I had done all I now, too late, perceive I might have done 
with my charms, there is nothing I could not have accom- 
plished." 

If beauty consisted in the approximation to perfection of 
any single feature, few ladies would have to bemoan the 
misfortune that to-day cries out of the hearts of thousands, 
for few have not some attractive development. But it is 
a combination. A woman as fair as Hebe, with no hair 
would beg attention in vain, and so with the absence of 
any prominent charm, or a poor display of it. 

In this age of sleeves, our ladies seem absolutelv to have 
forgotten the beauty attaching to the arms; nor are they 
aroused to the true condition of these members until sum- 
moned to a party in evening dress. Then, too often, they 



236 DE LA BAXTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

discover material and unacountable faults — arms soft and 
flabby, or long, bony and scrawny, or covered with hair, or 
a coarse, rough skin, and perhaps pimples. It is then too 
late, and there is no device to successfully conceal the 
defects uncovered beneath the glare of the searching gas 
lights. The absence of exercise affecting the arms, neglect 
at the toilet, and the fact that they are seldom exposed 
account for this. 

The shoulders suffer the same neglect. This is woful. 
No day should pass in which a lady, no matter what her 
position, does not bathe to her waist, and treat her arms to 
the same cosmetics that would benefit her face. In addi- 
tion to this, some light exercise acting directly upon the 
arms and shoulders should be employed; then the arms 
would round out and taper gracefully and the skin be fair 
as an infant's, the flesh and muscles firm. Cosmetics can 
not do all, but they can finish and tone. The exercises 
for the arms given on a previous page and the cosmetics 
and baths recommended in this connection are all that 
are required. 

PASTE FOR THE SHOULDERS AND ARMS. 

Boil the whites of four eggs in rose water adding a grain 
or two of alum. Beat till thick. Spread this on the skin 
and cover with old linen. It may be worn over night or 
during the afternoon, previous to appearing in full dress. 
It gives a beautiful firmness to the skin and is especially 
beneficial to those with soft and flabby flesh. 

FOR THE ARMS AND HANDS. 

An old English cosmetic to improve the skin of the hands 
and arms has been revived : 



THE HANDS. 2o7 

Fine hard soap, ... 2 ounces | Lemon juice, ... 2 ounces 

Dissolve and add, 
Oil of bitter almonds, . 1 ounce | Oil of tartar, .... 1 ounce 

Mix the whole and stir well until it is like soap. 

This contains as powerful agents as should be used upon 
the skin, and should not be applied to chaps or scratches. 

TO WHITEN AND SOFTEN THE ARMS. 

A cosmetic, old and valuable, is composed of : 



Myrrh, 1 ounce 

Honey, 4 " 



Yellow wax, .... 2 ounces 
Rose water, 6 " 



Melt the wax, rose water and honey together in a dish over boiling 
hot water, and add the myrrh while hot. Rub this over the skin 
thickty before retiring. 

THE HANDS. 

Few have perfect hands; but it is not a difficult matter to 
keep them neat and white. With many the skin, instead 
of being soft and flexible, is rough, hard, dry and unequal, 
especially with those who perform manual labor. There 
are exceptions, how r ever; some who never did any labor 
have hands rough, red, and dry by nature. Sometimes 
this is aggravated by exposure to cold, constant use of 
warm or cold water, irritating soaps and other substances. 
Expose the hands as little as possible to cold or damp. 
Wash them in lukewarm water and some mild soap or 
bran water. Anoint them with cold cream or the following 
almond paste, and wear gloves on retiring. Avoid manual 
labor, if possible, and do not wet them much. If you 
must wash them in hard water, put in a teaspoonful of 
powdered borax or aqua ammonia. It is better not to 
wash the hands at all but rub them well with pare glycerine. 



238 de la baxta's advice TO LADIES. 



ALMOXD TASTE. 



Sweet almond oil, . 1 pint 1 Yolk of esgs, ... 2 drachms 



Essence of cloves. . . 2 drachms 
Essence of bergamot, 2 " 



Bitter almonds, peeled. £ pint 
Honey, 1 " 



Beat the honey and the yolk of eggs together. Add the on a 
little at a time and then the almonds and essences. 

TO WHITEN THE HAXDS. 

Carbonate of potash, 2 drachms j Horse chestnuts, pounded. . 2 oz. 

Essence of bergamot. . 1 " Iris powder 1 oz. 

Bitter almonds. . . 10 ounces I 

Mix. Put a little in a pint of water and wash the hands. 

To whiten the hands promptly, five or six grains of 
chlorinated lime may be put into the water. This should be 
tepid. Preparations of corrosive sublimate, sometimes 
used, must be handled with care, as they are liable to irri- 
tate the skin even when weak. 



COSMETIC GLOVES 

Rose water 1 ounce 

Tincture of benzoin, . 36 grains 



Sweet almond oil, 2 tablespoonfuls 
Tolk of eggs, . 2 scruples 



Beat the yolks with the oil and add successively the rose water and 
tincture. Put this inside the gloves and sleep in them. 

This preparation should be kept in a bottle well corked. 
The gloves should be refilled each night. Gloves of India- 
rubber without cosmetics are prized. They retain the per- 
spiration, keeping the skin warm and moist through the 
night and rendering it soft, white and smooth. 

ANOTHER. 

Sof-t soap, t pound Olive oil 1 gill 

Mutton tallow 1 ounce 

Boil together, then add 
Spirits of wine, .... 1 gill | Ambergris, .... 1 scruple 



THE HANDS. 239 

Apply the paste and draw on gloves or mittens a size or two too 
large. Wear over night. 

Horse chestnuts powdered and a teaspoonful put in the 

water effectually whiten the skin. To wear large mittens 

tilled with wet bran and tied closely at the wrists will also 

whiten the hands. 

TO SOFTEN THE HANDS. 

For red hands, quiet, regular sleep, light exercise and hot 
foot baths are all that is necessary. To soften the hands 
rubbing them a few nights successively with glycerine, 
almond or sweet oil, and sleeping with them incased in 
kid gloves is sufficient. Country girls can hold them to a 
rapidly whirling grindstone for a few seconds, which will 
remove all callosities and stains and leave the skin like 
satin. 

Rubbing the hands with oil and dusting with chalk 
before going to bed will soon both soften and whiten them. 
To remove stains, rub a slice of raw potato upon the stains; 
or wash the hands in lemon juice or steeped laurel leaves. 
For stains in fabrics, wash them in lemon juice and rinse 
with melted lard. The lard may then be removed with 
warm water and a little castile soap. 

TO PREVENT THE HANDS SWEATING. 

This is almost impossible. The best means is to pay 
due attention to the constitution and the food, as much 
depends on this. Regular exercise, riding on horseback, 
rowing, gymnastics, etc., tend to diminish it. Tonics are 
good. Thermal baths, because of their direct action upon 
the skin, are very good. I would recommend the waters 
of the hot springs, also sea bathing. The only local means 
of assuaging it is to use powdered starch or rice flour. 
17 



240 DE LA BANTa's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

ANOTHER. 

A clammy moisture of the hand, very annoying and 
generally indicative of enfeebled health, mav be remedied 
by the above, also by half a teaspoonful of alum in the 
water, or a few drops of aromatic sulphuric acid to render 
it sour. To arrest temporary moisture, rub the hands with 
prepared French chalk or powdered lycopodium. 

TO PREVENT REDNESS OF THE HANDS. 

Muriate of ammo- j Aromatic vinegar, 1 teaspoonful 

nia, . ... 1 teaspoonful \ Tepid soft water, . 1 quart 
Let the hands remain in this for fifteen minutes night and morning. 

This also improves the skin, and is said to destroy warts. 
Washing them in tepid (not hot) water, using honey -soap 
and a soft towel, drying with violet powder, and again with 
a soft, dry handkerchief, is said to cure redness. Exercise 
also, and do not wear gloves too tight. Some ladies tie 
their hands up to the canopy to throw the blood into the 
arms and body and preserve the hands thin and white. 

TREATMENT FOR THE NAILS. 

First it is necessary to keep the nails clean with brush 
and soap. 

POWDER. 

Take pure oxide of tin, perfume with essence of lavender and 
color with carmine. Apply with the finger or a piece of leather. 

To polish the nails rub with a sponge dipped in a mix- 
ture of equal parts of cinnabar and pulverized emery, and 
afterward with a little oil of bitter almonds. Lemon juice 
or steeped laurel leaves will remove fruit or other stains. 




GERMAN TYPE, (Fore-arm and Hand). 

240 



THE HANDS. 241 

Where the nails have to be cut close because of breaking, 
the skin generally becomes dry. Anoint them in the 
evening with cold cream and the following pomade: 

Tar, 18 grains | Lard, 1 ounce 

Mix. Rub the hands and nails with it, and glove them over night. 
Wash in the morning with soap and warm Water, or rosemary tea. 

FOR BRITTLE NAILS. 

Soak the finger - tips for a short time, once in twenty - 
four hours, in a solution of carbolic acid, one part, and 
water 100 parts. The brittleness is probably due to the 
presence of epiphytes, and this will kill them. Finger 
thimbles are now made to wear for the purpose of shaping 
the fingers from the first joint to a taper. 

FOR CRACKS AND CHAPS IN THE HANDS. 

Always wipe the hands dry after bathing them. Cracks 
are often the result of neglect in this respect. 

. . . \ ounce 



Tincture of aloes, 


1 drachm 


Glycerine, 


Tincture of benzoin, 


. 1 " 


Rose water, 




ANOTHER. 


Olive oil, .... 


2 drachms 


Spermaceti, 


White wax, . . . 


. 4 





. . . 18 grains 

On retiring anoint the fingers or hands and wear gloves. 

For chapped hands nothing is better than pure glycerine 
(chemically pure from the salts of lime or lead found in 
most of that sold), well rubbed in. 

TO PREVENT THE VEINS OF THE HANDS SWELLING. 

The numerous veins upon the back of the hands should 
barely appear, but with many they swell and are very 
annoying. It is very difficult and almost impossible to 



242 de la banta's advice to ladies. 

suggest a remedy. The following treatment is the best 
that is known. Wash them frequently in vinegar and 
never in warm water. Avoid tight sleeves. Gloves may 
be worn moderately close fitting. 

FOR CHILBLAINS ON THE FINGERS. 

Many young persons, particularly of lymphatic tempera- 
ment, suffer from chilblains on the fingers that destroy the 
color of the skin and leave scars and reddish and blue 
marks. The following pomade is highly praised. 

Carbonate ammonia, . 2 drachms I Powdered sulphur, . 1 drachm 
Acetate of lead, . . 4 " Fresh lard, .... 4 ounces 

Opium, 2 " 

Mix and anoint the fingers. 

TO REMOVE WARTS. 

So many methods are known which it is claimed will 
remove these little excrescences that it seems superfluous 
to name any remedies here. But, apropos to our general 
treatment of the hands, we give the best known, which are 
effectual, though simple. I may remark here that the blood 
from a wart dropping upon the hand will not produce 
others. 

The best treatment is to tie a silk thread tightly around 
the wart, if the base be not too large and closely grown to 
the hand. A drop of muriatic acid applied with a feather, 
occasionally, is a slow but sure and not disagreeable remedy. 

Notwithstanding a fear of encouraging belief in the old 
devices of witchcraft and sibylline arts and practices, and 
also of reflecting on myself somewhat, I will say that I 
removed over fifty from my own hands within a week, when 
a boy, by stealing a piece of salt meat, rubbing it on the 



THE FEET. 243 

warts, and burying it beneath a stone in the cellar. If my 
word is good after this, I suggest that you try the remedy. 
Your warts will disappear very mysteriously. 

Wetting the warts with saliva and applying common 
soda will remove them, it is said. 

Apply carbolic acid strong as possible three or four times 
a day with a camel's hair pencil. No pain ensues and the 
warts disappear in a week or two. 

THE FEET. 

The in -growing of nails is generally caused by lack of 
attention and not cutting them until they are so long that 
the boot presses them down into the flesh, where they 
become rooted and very painful. To prevent this, cut 
them in a half circle and not too close to the skin. When 
the nail is dry and breaks off, use a file and smooth it off. 
If surrounded by a dry secretion, wash in saleratus water, 
wipe dry and anoint with a little fresh lard or cold cream. 
Cut a notch in the end of the free portion of the nail and 
it will grow out of itself. 

TO PREVENT THE FEET PERSPIRING. 

This is not easy to accomplish, yet with proper care it 
may be done. It is difficult to determine which is most 
deplorable a bad breath or fetid feet. Both are at times 
unbearable, but the latter is more forcibly suggestive of 
uncleanliness, though this is often an error. The smell may 
be attributed to a constitutional cause generally, and 
treated accordingly, but it is necessary to employ local 
means to assuage it until the cause is reached. Shoes 



244 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

should be large enough to admit of an insole of felt which 
should be steeped each day in a solution of permanganate 
of potash — twenty grains to an ounce of water — after- 
wards dried and inserted. Several pairs of such soles 
should be kept ready. Frequent change of hose and 
washing the feet in pure lukewarm water with soap, are 
the simplest means. They may also be washed morning 
and evening in cold water containing a few teaspoonfuls of 
alum, tnen well dried and rubbed with 

Oxide of zinc ointment, . 1 ounce | Carbolic acid crystalized, 5 grains 

In warm weather and after long walks the secretion is 
very troublesome, and with some it is an affliction at all 
seasons, despite every attempt at cleanliness. A very 
excellent remedy is to bathe the feet three times a week 
for an hour in a decoction of ashes, steeped laurel leaves 
and a little turpentine, and exclude from your diet such 
substances as fish, cheese, etc. Frequent ablutions with 
infusions of sage, thyme, rosemary, etc., are good. Bathe 
them morning and night, and wipe dry, then rub with the 
following powder : 



Camphor, .... 2 drachms 
Iris powder, .... 4 ounces 
Mix together. 



Powdered starch, . . 1 pound 



■The treatment for perspiration, given elsewhere, applies 
equally well to the feet, and may be employed to ad- 
vantage. 

SALVE FOR FROST BITES, ETC. 

Sweet oil, 1 ounce Beeswax, 1 ounce 

Turpentine, 1 " 

Melt the wax and oil together ; when somewhat cooled add the 



THE FEET. 245 

turpentine, and stir until cold, which keeps them evenly mixed. 
Apply by spreading upon a linen cloth. Good for burns, cracked 
nipples, etc. 

POMADE FOR CHILBLAINS. 

Chloroform, .... 5 grains Cold cream or glycerine, 1 ounce 
Precipitate, white, . . 5 " 

When painful and swollen apply a poultice of elder flowers and 
camomile ; or bind on them a little cerate sprinkled with camphor. 

ANOTHER. 



.Mild solution of am- 
monia, . . 2 drachms 



White Castile soap, . 1 drachm 
Tincture of cantharides, 2 ounces 



Keep moist with this. If too inconvenient, paint the frost bites or 
chilblains morning and night with tincture of iodine and ammonia 
solution, equal parts. This is perhaps as good as anything recom- 
mended. 

It is said, also, that a sure cure follows bathing the feet 
in water in which potatoes have been boiled. 

SURE CURE FOR CORNS. 

Bind on a bit of cotton and wet three times a day with spirits of 
turpentine. It never fails. 

ANOTHER. 

Take a lemon, cut off a piece, then nick it so as to let in the toe 
with the corn, the pulp next the corn. Bind on over night so that it 
can not move. The next morning the corn, by using a blunt knife, 
will nearly all come out. Repeat two or three times. 

ANOTHER. 

This has been tried thoroughly and found infallible : Put from one 
to three tablespoonfuls of soda in a small foot tub of hot water. Let 
the feet remain in ten or fifteen minutes. The alkali dissolves the 
indurated cuticle, and the corn falls out, leaving a cavity which soon 
fills. 

In paring a corn do not cut it flat, but concave, or 
deeper at the center, thus taking out the root. 



DE LA EANTA S ADVICE TO LADIES. 



GOLLZ;: Z7.ATE FOR CORNS. 





oz. 


dr. 


gr- 




dr. 


scr. 


Yellow wax . . 


5 








Oxide of copper. . 


.3 


2 


Sulphate of zinc. 


. 1 


3 


18 


Verdigris, ... 


q 


o 


Red chalk, . . 


1 


3 


18 


Borax, 


a 

o 


•2 



CXRE FOR SOFT CORNS. 

Take a piece of cotton, spread it out and sprinkle upon it some 
prepared chalk, roll it up and place between the toes and on the corn. 
The cotton and chalk absorb the perspiration and keep the corn dry, 
when it is soon well. This is a sure cure. 

TREATMENT FOR BDHUXHS 

Bathe the feet frequently with warm water and soap. Occasionally 
rub the bunion with benzine. Keep on soft plasters and wear easy 
shoes. Bunions usually appear on the joint of the great toe, and 
sometimes become as hard as the bone itself. This treatment will 
cure them if persisted in. 

FOR BLISTERS ON THE FEET. 

Rub them thoroughly at night with hard bar soap. You will feel 
nothing of them in the morning It is best to bathe the feet first in 
cold water, adding a little salt. 

BATHS. 

A most essential feature of hygiene is bathing. It comes 
to us from remote antiquity, and is in use even among the 
least civilized races. With the -ancients it became neces- 
sary from the use of woolen clothing. With the Romans 
after the Republic it became a luxury, and so popular that 
the most costly establishments were built, many of which 
at the present day may be seen. The baths of Diocletian, 
Agrippa, Augustus and Caracalla are the admiration of 
travelers through Italy. Traces may also be found of the 



BATHS. 247 

splendor of those in France, Germany and Algeria. Tur- 
kish and vapor baths are excellent. So are ordinary warm 
baths, which should be taken often, also shower baths. Cold 
baths are bad for the skin. Rain water, tepid, is best. It 
is a habit still with ladies of the Orient, and even of Paris, 
to bathe in oil, milk or wine. The sensations are described 
as most exhilarating. Sea bathing, now so popular, is an 
excellent tonic to the general system, but for the skin and 
purposes of the toilet, tepid or ordinary rain water is better. 

VAPOR BATHS. 

As a matter of course, in large cities where facilities are 
established for taking the vapor, Russian, Turkish and 
other baths, people will use them; but as few are favored 
thus, substitutes may be employed with nearly as beneficial 
effects. To take the vapor bath at home, the rush or cane 
bottomed chair is used, beneath which an alcohol lamp is 
placed. A waterproof blanket or other covering must 
envelop the person and chair, fastened closely at the neck 
and extending to the floor. A sulphur bath is taken in the 
same manner, but in place of the lamp is a pan of coals 
upon which is a basin of water. Sulphur is thrown upon 
the coals. The fumes mingle with the steam, and the bath 
is complete. The head should remain out, as were the 
fumes allowed to escape in the face, suffocation would 
ensue at once. A compress, a towel or sponge wet with 
cold water, should be kept on or fastened around the back 
of the head, thus cooling the base of the brain, to which 
the blood rushes with force. This must not be neglected, 
as it prevents faintness or apoplexy. 

At bathing establishments all the person save the head 



2-48 DE la banta's advice to ladies. 

is encased in a wooden box, with a waterproof tight -fitting 
collar about the neck. The steam is conveyed through a 
pipe to the box, the sulphur burning in a corner of the box 
or in a generator outside and the fumes being conveyed in 
as the steam is, through a tube* 

It is better not to undertake sulphur baths without 
proper appliances, and never except in the most dry and 
settled weather. To contract a cold with the pores thus 
open is an easy matter, and with sulphur in the system one 
will suffer effects not unlike those following the use of 
mercury. 

THE TURKISH BATH 

Is simply the old Roman bath modernized. In the last 
few years it has received a large share of public patronage, 
as much for its merits as because of liberal advertising-. 
Its operation is this : The bather first enters a chamber 
heated to a high temperature, the air being either dry or 
moderately moist. Here he remains till profuse perspiration 
is induced, when he enters another apartment and plunges 
into water heated to about 100 or 110 degrees. He is 
afterwards kneaded or shampooed by attendants, and this 
constitutes the peculiarity of the system. 

In some establishments in this country, and in all in 
Constantinople, the cold water douche or shower follows 
the hot piunge. This should not be omitted, as it overcomes 
the languor resulting from the heating process by attract- 
ing; the blood to the surface, which better fits the system 
for exercise, and braces it to meet the outside temperature. 
Great suppleness and elasticity follow this bath, and bene- 
ficial effects have resulted in cases of chronic disorders, 
diseases of the skin, rheumatism, etc. 




TURKISH LADY. 

24S 



BATHS. 24 ( J 

THE RUSSIAN BATH. 

like the Turkish, this is an outgrowth of the old Roman 
bath. The hot air chamber, hot and cold water plunges, 
and douches are its principal characteristics. The Russian 
peasantry enjoy these in a rude manner by sitting on large 
clay stoves until heated to a proper pitch, when they rush 
out and roll headlong- in the snow. 

A Russian bath may be taken, in a manner, at home. 
Have the bath tub (and no well appointed house is without 
this appendage) filled with cold water. Then take the 
vapor bath as previously described if a dry heat is desired; 
or have water poured upon a hot brick beneath the bather's 
chair if steam be preferred. Remain thus for fifteen or 
twenty minutes; then have recourse to the cold plunge or 
shower. This is no mean substitute for the genuine Russian 
bath. 

THE HOT BATH. 

After all, the ordinary hot bath remains the one that for 
all times and purposes must take precedence. In the hot- 
test weather nothing is more cooling than this. Its effects 
upon the system are happy, and for the toilet and beauty 
it is indispensable. For the latter, however, the tepid bath 
of 80° or 90° Fahrenheit is required. 

The hot bath softens the secretions, opens the pores, and 
almost regenerates with new life. It should be indulged 
in daily in the hot summer weather. 

THE COLD BATH. 

Only a strong, healthy constitution is fitted to submit 
to the cold bath very often. As boy, youth and man, the 
writer has been much addicted to the water, much of the 



250 



DE LA BANT AS ADVICE TO LADIES. 



time tumbling about in its waves. With the advantages 
of perfect health and a vigorous constitution, he does not 
remember a single occasion when the effects of such baths, 
however enjoyable, were as exhilarating as a single hot 
bath. The tonic effects of sea bathing are of great value. 

OIL BATH. 

Boil an ounce of gum benzoin in two quarts of olive oil 
from six to ten hours — greater quantities if desired — and 
bathe the entire person, rubbing it well. in. Such a bath 
may be taken with good effect at least once every two 
weeks. 

This Oriental custom once a feature of your toilet will 
not be dispensed with. It adds suppleness to the joints, a 
smooth, satin finish to the skin, and a rare and delicate 
fragrance to the person. 

Milk and wine baths, though the latter is costly, act 
similarly on the skin and are very enjoyable. 

EAU DES ODALISQUES. 

For the bath this is excellent, and is highly recommended 

by French ladies: 

Alcohol, 2 pints 

Rose water, .... 1 " 
Soluble cream tartar, 4 ounces 
Pellitary root, . . . H " 
Root of galanga, . . 1£ " 

Storax, H " 

Galanga, 1 " 

Mexican cochineal, . i drachm 

Vanilla, 1 

Infuse eight days and filter. For lotions add one spoonful of this 
to six of water. For freshening the mouth add twenty - four drops to 
four teaspoonfuls of tepid water. For diseased gums double the dose 
and gargle several times a day. 



Balsam of Peru, liquid, 5 drachms 


Balsam of Peru, dry, 5 


a 


Orange peel, dried, . 2 


a 


Cinnamon, .... 1 


K 


Essence of mint, . . 1 


u 


Bohemian angelica, 




root, 1 


u 


Dill seed, 1 


u 



BATHS. 251 



EMOLLIENT BATH. 

Emollient spices, . . 4 pounds ' Water, 5 quarts 

Flax seed, i " | 

Boil all together and add to the bath. 

Aromatic baths are prepared with an infusion of aromatic 
plants. Tincture of alcohol is also used as an ablution. 

BRAN BATH. 

Bran, 3 pounds | Water, . . Sufficient quantity 

Boil and place in the bath. 

COSMETIC BATH. 

Vinegar (strong), . . . i pint | Ammonia, . . 1 tablespoonful 
M ix and pour in the bath. 

modesty's bath. 



Flax seed, 1 pint 

Marsh mallow root, . . 1 ounce 
Spur nuts, 1 pound 



Sweet almonds, hulled, 

pounded, .... 3 ounces 
(Enula campana, . . . 1 pound 
White onions, ... 1 ounce 

Pound all well together, make a paste, put in three little cotton 
bags, throw in the bath, and with a little compression it will dissolve. 
It may be replaced by putting a sufficient amount of almond paste in 
the water to give it a milky appearance. 

This formula has descended to us from remote ages. In 
Catholic countries ladies confessed in it and received calls. 
We have no evidence of the value of any bath to beauty 
equal to that Diana de Poitiers had recourse to each day, 
and to which she claims to have owed her marvelous beauty 
at sixty — simple rain water. 

A favorite practice with the Orientals was that of anoint- 
ing the body with fine oils to give suppleness to the joints. 
They oiled themselves daily. It is by no means a practice 



252 DE la banta's advice to ladies. 

that should be abandoned by our ladies of the Occident. 
The muscles of the back, from straining or carrying chil- 
dren — the shoulders, knees, arms and hands when fatigued, 
will be sensibly relieved by a thorough anointing with 
almond or olive oil, scented with otto of rose or violets. 
The oil should be thoroughly rubbed in until there remains 
no gloss. 

The following formula for the benefit of opera dancers, 
for rendering the joints supple, is given by Lola Montez: 



Deer fat, 8 ounces 

Olive oil, 6 

Virgin wax, .... 3 " 



White brandy. . . . i pint 

Rose water, 4 ounces 

Musk, 1 orrain 



Melt the fat, oil and wax together, stir the rose water into the 
brandy, then beat all well together. Ambergris or other perfume 
may substitute the musk. 



TOILET SOAPS. 

I can not well dilate upon this subject here, however im- 
portant it may seem, or however eloquent I might be in 
denunciation of the base and filthy compounds called soap, 
thrust upon us, freighted with decayed fat, strong alkalies, 
caustics, poison and disease, or in laudation of other, better 
and necessary articles which are soap in reality. Let me 
assure you, ladies, all is not sweet that exhales sweet odors, 
especially soaps for the toilet; perfumes are made to con- 
ceal a multitude of corruptions no more fit to find a place 
upon your dressing table than would be the putrid carcase 
of a dog beneath your couch. Yet you are expected to 
put upon your fair skin to cleanse eruptions, aye, even use 
upon the tender skin of helpless infants, these combinations 
of rancid fat and strong caustics to eat into and poison the 



TOILET SOAPS. 253 

blood with loathsome disease. This warning may be brief 
but it will be effectual if you will heed it and know the 
kind of soaps you employ in such close relation with your 
delicate persons. 

There is what is termed the " cold process," which 
unprincipled manufacturers are largely using in place of 
the boiling. This leaves the particles of animal fat unpuri- 
fied and unsaponified, and such soaps must of necessity 
contain an excess of strong alkalies and fats in a raw and 
rancid condition. 

All toilet soap fit for use should be made of clean, pure 
tallow or oil and strong solutions of soda. The natural 
color of these soaps is yellow; other colors are given by 
the addition of coloring matter. Brown windsor is colored 
by caramel or cacao. The dark lines in castile soap are 
caused by a harmless preparation of iron. Red soaps are 
colored by anilines. These latter are from the distillation 
of coal, and are irritating to the skin of some, and should 
be used cautiously. The fashionable coraline is one of 
these. Green is produced by chrome -green; rose color 
by cinnabar. 

The perfumes, too, are not always free from poison. So 
long as they are the extracts of plants, etc., they are harm- 
less, but many of them are produced by artificial essences 
derived from fusil oil and petroleum, and produce upon 
the skin their share of evil. Soaps containing pumice- 
stone or other gritty substances should be avoided. Many 
medicated soaps are loudly advertised, but are no more 
reliable for that. It can generally be ascertained which 
are the best, and such only should be used. 



254 



TOILET SOAP. 

Glycerine, .... 2 oun; be Sweet almond oil, . 1 ounce 
Florentine orris root Mutton tallow, . . 4 

2 ~ ~:t - . . 2 " "' FMteCas tile - lap, . 1 pound 

Melt all together; just before the soap hardens, cut into any 

desired shape. This is cheap, yet one of the best soaps for toilet use. 

Better perhaps for the skin than any other soap made, is 
a preparation by Bazin, recommended by the French 
Royal Academy of Medicine : 



0:". :: \:~c: \\:n :l :~. 12 : :z. rs 


Spermaceti. . . 


. 4 ounces 


¥•:■— ::-rr"::i~er i'.zionis. S 


Soap powder. . . 


. 4 " 


Savon yert of the per- 


Cinnabar, . . . 


. 2 drachms 


:-.:-rr? S ~ 


Z -rnce of rose, . 


. 1 



Melt the soap and spermaceti with oil in a water bath, add the 
powder and mix the whole in a marble mortar. This forms a paste 
rather than a soap T and is better for toilet uses as it contains less 
i.kZi. 

Pastes and toilet waters should be made in quantities, as 

improve with age. By making these, three fourths of 

the druggist's price is saved. 

PERSPIRATIOH 

! -rcuriali said: "Beauty is principally found in a good 
physical condition calculated to flatter the sense of view; 
yet if a disagreeable odor issue from the body, it must be 
called a vice of beauty.*' Too much care can not be 
observed in keeping the body free from this secretion. It 
is more troublesome with some than others, and more 
offensive, especially with red haired persons and blondes. 
It varies according to sex and age, and is largely affected 
by diet. 

Perspiration, while useful to people of fleshy habit and 
in health, is an inconvenience when too abundant. It is 



PERSPIRATION. 255 

of different kinds, and affects people in different ways and 
portions of the person, and arises from various causes. 
Periodical perspiration indicates stages of intermittent 
fever that disappear with careful treatment. Where it 
affects the palms of the hands, the feet, the scalp, or the 
breasts and the armpits, the odors, especially of the latter, 
are very disagreeable. 

It is caused from exercise, heat, warm drinks and aro- 
matics, and it often comes from an organic and inherited 
disposition. Some are troubled as much in Winter as in 
Summer. Moral emotions, shame, terror, fear and grief are 
strong causes. Great care should be taken to have the 
body free from heat, and to use tepid baths, rendering them 
tonic by a little hydrosulphate of potash, or a little rock 
salt; strengthening food, such as roasts, broths, wine, coffee, 
elixir of Peruvian bark, frequent changes of undercloth- 
ing, wearing flannel next the skin, not covering the body 
too much, and avoiding sudden drafts, are the best means 
for removing the cause. Independent of this there are 
means of assuaging the odor arising from it. Those suffer- 
ing profusely at the armpits should wipe them with flannel 
and wash with rose or lemon water, especially on retiring. 
Also perfume the underclothing. 

As to diet, exclude such articles as cheese, fish, etc. For 
the feet, bathe three times a week for an hour in a decoc- 
tion of ashes, steeped in laurel leaves and a little turpentine. 
The following receipts will be found valuable : 

MINERVA'S BATH. 



Aromatic herbs, . . i pound 

Boiling water, .... 2 quarts 

Mix and pour into the bath. 

18 



Eau de cologne or alcohol, 1 gill 



256 



DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 



AROMATIC POWDER. 



Cinnamon, 
Pulverized starch, 



1 ounce 
1 " 



Cardamom, 



1 ounce 



AROMATIC LOTION. 

The following lotion is an excellent aromatic bath for 
perspiration : 



Essence of mint, . 2 scruples 
Essence of lavender, . 2 " 
Essence of rosemary, 2 " 



Essence of lemon, . 2 scruples 

Alcohol, H ounces 

Infusion of thyme, 1 quart 



Bathe the hands, feet and parts of the body where the 
secretion is most profuse with cold infusion of thyme, sage 
and rosemary, and afterward dust the underclothing with 
the following mixture : 



powder. ^ 

Camphor, . . . 2$ drachms Starch, 16 ounces 

Orris root, . . . 4 ounces 

Reduce the whole to impalpable powder, tie in a coarse muslin 
bag and shake it over the garments. It makes a fine bathing powder 
also. 



PERFUMES AND ODORS. 

From time immemorial fragrant odors have exercised an 
agreeable and refining influence. There is a subtle essence 
in perfume that steals through the senses and breathes of 
beauty. All through the Scriptures we read of incense 
burned, and of fragrant ointments. Moses designated the 
exact perfume which should fill the tabernacle. This is 
given as the origin of the use of perfumes. The first 
churches, the temples of the ancients, were always infected 




'•». N ....',.. '*-* 



JOSEPHINE. 

256 



PERFUMES AND ODORS. 257 

with noxious emanations from the animals sacrificed, and 
carcases interred therein. They burned incense, and per- 
fumed their altars to destroy the disagreeable odors. They 
were mixtures reserved to God. There is another, more 
poetical, origin — that they received life from the sunshine 
and rose with it to perfume the atmosphere. Fragrant 
spices, oils, perfumes and ablutions constituted the basis of 
ancient culture. With the Chinese, perfumes have even 
entered into domestic use, and been associated with their 
ideas of pleasure. Myrrh and incense were among the 
presents offered the Messiah by the wise men. Moses 
instructed the Egyptian priests and scholars in the science 
of perfumes. Hygienic, as also cosmetic, prescriptions 
employed at the present time are found in the Scriptures, 
which for a longtime were disguised under religious forms. 
The Roman Church carried the use of perfumes to such 
extremes that she kept lands in Syria and various oriental 
provinces for the exclusive culture of flowers and perfumes. 
They were employed in the most extravagant manner by 
the Romans, they using them in their sleeping rooms, baths 
and beds. When Pompey entered Naples, and at the 
triumphal march of Antony into Alexandria, the air was 
thick with odorous vapors. At the funeral of his wife 
Poppea, Nero caused more incense to be burned than all 
Arabia could produce in a year. The affluent Greeks had 
perfuming pans to send forth sweet odors while they feasted. 
Plutarch mentions a supper given by Otho to Nero at 
which tables of gold and silver on all sides were loaded 
with perfumes of fabulous price which gave out odors that 
made the repast humid and the air dense. Cardinal Rich- 
elieu, through his declining years, lived continually in the 






. . ; . - *..~ ~~ i : _.„ :z> 



- 7 . :-::'. ..... 



- r7r. — ii'.r-i ::.:" :r£ 1:.= • .■ .i.'-.-ir"" 
t-:l —l.z t:..t7_:.j ::r_i ;' £: — rTi 
i: iL: :: 7_j.Tr r_~z_.i__.rl "-•"..••.*.::' r-i-ii 

-7 . . I' ... r _"_-_ !.__ 7.:. " ! ■_ - 7 "____ _ 

- :;- : : ___■_____ r. . .__. ± *t- . :•_. 

: " _ - _: : • ' in 1 it: 7 ; __*••_ . " .: 7 . ; :-:- lj.Tr, 
rated. lit is mot diffienk to see how 

- :.: ____■■_; :.-- -•:._•■;.. ":•_ £z. ;:. ■ - : .- 

■-_:.'•.- : rrrrizLr^ 7 _-.::-_,• zij _r .;-_ . : 
-z. .- *z_i~.^ :zz _.:_: :_. 



: : ". t - ..... _ » - . . - 

■ - Z ' - - — - . — _ ... ~ 

:_. _>■_ ir: : --~r- 

:r:: £::r7_: 7 =.:zir "i- : " : :■- : :' £;— 77'5 _._•_ .77 
'.-- :--ti'::... t'-:.. _______ I? __ -...7.. :._"£__ :: _ 1l.it -_; 

ill z.:: ri it: r zit ~Or__: : :..- ::-- i_l £:_■__ :_£ 7.7 :£r 

■ z---zz:- :':.-." -777-7 "i" — 7. it .-. z. . ""J.: ~ _... _7~- 

fidiaL This, howewer, arose fiom imaginattion and the 

- 77 . - . - . ' - . - . . ■ - £7. _• - z : . - -7. 7 :". ~ t ..-._._- 

7 .- ..----: . - -.:- £_. _ :_:^ 77.77 — £cr--_ 

:--- L.7r £:-rr-i :: ;!____-_ 

- 7.777 ". ~~.~i ... ~ _."".- LiiiZciir" 777-7 77- .r - ::: .:._-r 
of pexfames leeavded in _____to_y_ Tettheieisnot sonmeh 



7 . - - 7 z -7 zz . - z — . 
£ : — t? _ 7 .1 1 _..: : :.: z r, 
z ". r_ r . " - 7 : - :~ : r 
~ 1 j 7 . - 7 . : 7 : ^ 
M'::r - z._- l:r: :~ : 
7. .. :: i : : .77.7. - .7 
____9__4_____ _.<!__ 

"... r r? - ! "-.":.-.; :•;::■: 
jojandgiieL W r 

17 777 h . . >7 : 7 ^ L- 7 £ 1 ~ 

'~~z.iZ-Z - 7i : z ... : z '■: 



77,777:7-7 .1 ~ 7X7r7_.5iTr> 
r r 7.7 7 . ~ 7 . \ ' ~Lz : 

-77~. : r -7."7._- :': " 7. 7.:. z .:- 
77 7 : 7- :•-:...-"- _-:t.~t-. 
7 Lit ::' 7.7.: :£r 7:7..:.::- 

77-7-771 " ' L5 z~z7.'i '-...-'' 77 7 

7777 : : £777. 7^: 77.7 • .-■:: it. '. 

—.::. -..:..-- l~. : "-::- —777. 



urtL Who that has 



PERFUMES AND ODORS. 250 

scented the balmy breezes of Spring, freighted with the 
fresh odors of the green earth, of buds and blossoms and 
flowers, has not felt inspired by their gentle influence? 
What a tender melancholy pervades the soul — how fond 
memories woven with associations of home and youth 
re - touch in warm colors the heart. Rousseau and Zim- 
merman said that odor is the sense of imagination. Cazen- 
ave says it is for a man a source of pleasure. Odors seem 
like harbingers of Paradise, belonging to that sphere where- 
in are born all our tender impulses; where beauty and 
pleasure and love cluster and entwine with the hallowed 
influence of women. Flowers and perfumes seem espe- 
cially suited for women, who observe great care and pleasure 
in their use, indicating, perhaps, that they are not wholly 
separated from a sense of the voluptuous. 

Opinions may differ in point of taste with regard to the 
manner of using perfumes. I think, however, that a 
woman carries with her a double charm who leaves in her 
trail some exquisite odor. In cases where perspiration 
becomes a malady, giving rise to an offensive odor, the use 
of perfumes is indispensable. They may be used in differ- 
ent ways; a very convenient method is to wear them in 
little bags under the arms or elsewhere about the person. 
The most common manner is to scent the handkerchief. 
Flowers should always be cultivated, for they make us 
brighter and better. 

IMPERIAL PERFUME. 



Oil of bergamot, . . 1 ounce 

" jasmine, . . i " 
Tincture of musk, . i " 

Neroli, 1 drachm 

Garden lavender, . . 1 " 



Tincture of benzoin, . li ounces 
Essence of cinnamon, 5 drops 
Rose water, .... 1 pint 
Cologne spirits, . . 2 quarts 



260 



DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 



Mix. Allow the preparation to stand several days, shaking occa- 
sionally, then filter and bottle. 



COLOGNE. 



Alcohol or spirit from 

the Catawba grape, 1 gallon 
Oil of lavender, . . 1 ounce 
Oil of orange, ... 1 " 
Oil of cedrat, ... 2 drachms 



Oil of neroli or orange 

flowers, 1 drachm 

Oil of rose, .... 1 " 
Oil of ambergris, . . 1 " 



Mix well and keep in a cool place for three weeks. 



LAVENDER WATER. 

2 ounces I Spirits of wine, 



1 pint 



Oil of lavender, . . 

Orris root, \ " 

Mix and keep two or three weeks. It may then be strained 
through two thicknesses of blotting paper and is ready for use 



EAU DE COLOGNE. 



Alcohol, 3 pints 

Volatile oil of lemons, 1 ounce ' 
Volatile oil of cedrat, 3 drachms 



Volatile oil of lavender, 1 drachm 
Volatile oil of bergamot,6 " 
Tincture of benzoin, . If ounces 



Strain it and let stand for some time. 



ROYAL ESSENCE. 



Volatile oil of roses, . . 1 grain 
Volatile oil of cinnamon, 1 " 
Oil of Rhode's wood, . 1 " 
Oil of orange flowers, . 1 " 
Carbonate of potash, . 1 " 

Let it steep fifteen days and then strain. 



Civet, 1 grain 

Ambergris, .... 2 scruples 

Musk, 1 

Alcohol, 3 ounces 



Essence of roses, 



TRIPLE EXTRACT OP ROSE. 

. 3 ounces | Alcohol, . . 



1 gill 



AMBER EXTRACT. 



Tincture of ambergris, 
Triple extract of rose, . 



6 gills 
3 " 



Extract of vanilla, 
Essence of musk, 



7 drachms 
3 



Mix. This is a very strong odor, retaining its perfume after the 
handkerchief is washed. 



PERFUMES AND ODORS. 261 



TINCTURE OF MUSK. 



Musk in grains, . . 2 drachms | Rectified alcohol, ... 5 gills 
Let remain six months in mild temperature, then strain. This 
extract is used to mix all others where musk is used. 





EMPRESS TIE. 




Ylang-ylang, . . . 


. 1 ounce 


Geranium extract, . 


. 1 ounce 


White rose extract, . 


. 1 " 




H 



HOW TO EXTRACT PERFUME FROM FLOWERS. 

I clip the following from a popular journal as reliable 
information, of which ladies should avail themselves: 

Why do we waste the delicious odor of our flowers ? No doubt 
it is simply through our ignorance. The ladies w 7 ould say: "Show 
us how to improve the essence of a rose, or fasten down the odor of 
heliotrope, or confine the perfume of orange-blossoms? The way is 
very simple ; and strange to say, the fetters of these light airs are of 
the grossest kind — purified fat. Mr. Piesse tells us that the method 
of obtaining scented pomades is the easiest thing possible. If there 
is such a thing as a clean glue -put in the house, throw into it a little 
of this purified fat, warmed sufficiently on the fire to make it liquid, 
and throw into it as many heliotrope flowers as possible; let these 
remain for twenty - four hours, then strain off* the fat, and add fresh 
flow r ers to it ; repeat this process for a week, and the result will be 
pomade a la heliotrope, and such, Mr. Piesse says, as can not be got 
for love or money, from the perfumers. Other flowers may be treated 
in the same manner, and thus turned into pomades. The method of 
liberating the essence of flowers from this fattiness is very simple. 
The fat is cut into small cubes, and placed in spirits of wine, and 
the delicate odor immediately transfers itself from the coarse fat to 
the spirituous solvent. Thus pomades and essences are already 
made at home, and we may add that they will pay for the trouble of 
extracting them. "I will buy any amount of heliotrope pomade 
that I can get," says Mr. Piesse; "the ottos of orange-blossoms 
and jasmine flowers are as valuable as gold, weight for weight." He 
says again : " And for all these we have to go to France. In our 
colonies vast quantities of these — and, indeed, of every flower — go 



262 de la banta's advice to ladies. 

to waste. Why ? " asks this gentleman, " should we not grow flowers 
for the nose as well as for the eye? " The query is a very pertinent 
one. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 

Under this head I have added a number of valuable 
formulas which, though it can not be said that they belong 
exclusively to the toilet, are yet valuable assistants to 
beauty and comfort. They have not been selected at ran- 
dom, but generally from a practical knowledge of their 
efficacy, or from unquestioned authorities speaking for 
them. Like the foregoing, they bear the stamp of merit, 
and are given as the very best for the purposes indicated, 
and I am sure they will be found serviceable when needed. 
A few, culled from the very valuable receipt book of Dr. 
Chase, need no higher recommendation: 

TO FORM ARTIFICIAL SKIN. 

When burns, abrasions, etc., have removed the skin, take of Venice 
turpentine and gun - cutton, equal parts ; dissolve' in twenty times as 
much sulphuric ether. Dissolve the cotton first, then add the tur- 
pentine. Keep corked tightly. Ladies will find this excellent for 
cracked nipples, chapped hands, etc. It is waterproof. 

TO PREVENT THE FACE PITTING IN SMALL -POX. 

Just before the eruption appears and when the preceding fever is 
at its height in small - pox, rub the chest and fore part of the thighs 
with croton oil and tartar - emetic ointment. This causes the whole 
of the eruption to appear on those parts of the body to the relief of 
the rest. It also secures a full and complete eruption, to the relief 
of the internal organs. It also does not interfere with the posture 
of the patient in bed. This is the treatment adopted by English 
army surgeons in China. 



.MISCELLANEOUS. 2G3 



FOR BEE STINGS. 

A ripe tomato is the best known remedy for bee stings. One 
application is sufficient. 

SALVE FOR ABSCESSES, FEVER SORES, ETC. 

Take half an ounce of tobacco and steep thoroughly in one pint of 
soft water. Strain and boil down to one gill. Have melted lard, 
beeswax, and resin, half an ounce of each, stir in and simmer to a 
thick salve; add a gill of old rum, and simmer again to the same 
consistency. Use as other salves. 

FOR BURNS. 

Lay a piece of charcoal upon the burn and the pain subsides im- 
mediately. By leaving the charcoal upon the wound one hour, it 
will be healed, as has been demonstrated on several occasions. The 
remedy is cheap and simple. 

FOR WEAK ANKLES. 

Bathe them in wine lees ; also frequently in salt water. Salt four 
ounces, water two quarts, is excellent. Sea bathing in Summer and 
skating in Winter are of great benefit. Walk a little each day for 
exercise. 

FOR SCALDS, ULCERS, ETC. 

Soft extract stramonia, 1 drachm | Lard, 1 ounce 

Rub the stramonium with a little water until it is of such con- 
sistence as to admit of being worked into an ointment with the lard. 
Box for use. It relieves pain, drives away swellings, and strengthens 
limbs after broken bones have healed. It also invigorates the mus- 
cles, tendons, etc. It is excellent for swelled Rheumatism. 

TO REMOVE BOILS. 

Put in a phial an ounce of compound tincture of iodine, and hold 
the mouth of the inverted phial over and against the boil, when in 
its incipiency. It does not cause pain, and the boil disappears. 
They had better be left to run their course however, unless you incline 
to heed the warning that your blood is vitiated, or sickness worse 
than boils niay result. 



264 DE LA BAXTA's ADVICE TO LADIES. 



Linseed oil, .... 1 pint 
Highly scented soap, . 1| ounces 



FOR FEVER SORES AND SWELLINGS. 

Resin, 1 pound 

Mutton tallow, . ... 1 " 

Beeswax, 1 " 

Mix in an iron kettle and simmer two hours, stirring continually. 
Spread on a cloth and apply as needed. If the muscles are con- 
tracted, anoint with skunk's oil. 

FOR JAUNDICE. 

Iodide of potassium, . 9 grains J Distilled water, ... 1 ounce 
Red iodide of mercury, 7 " 

Mix. Commence by giving eight drops three or four times a day, 
increasing one drop a day until twelve or fifteen drops are given at a 
dose. Give in a little water immediately after meals. If it causes 
griping in the bowels or fullness in the head when you get to twelve 
or fifteen drops, go back to six drops and go up again as before. 

FOR S.ALT RHET3I. 

Quicksilver, .... 1 ounce I Prepared chalk, ... 1 ounce 

Aquafortis, 1 " ! Mix with lard, ... 1 pound 

Hard soap dissolved, . 1 " ' 

Incorporate the above by putting the aquafortis and quicksilver 
into an earthen vessel and when done effervescing mix with the other 
ingredients, putting the chalk in last, and adding a little spirits of 
turpentine, say half a tablespoonful. Use as an ointment. 

ANOTHER. 

Take sweet elder bark or sassafras root bark one handful, steep in 
a pint of water until the strength is extracted. Then strain and add 
resin and beeswax, a lump of each as large as a black walnut shelled, 
and a teacup of fresh lard ; simmer slowly till the water is out. 

ANOTHER. 

This is one of the best for this and kindred diseases. 

Oil of cade, .... 1 drachm Glycerine 1 ounce 

Starch, .2 " Oil of lavender, . . 30 drops 







RUSTIC BEAUTY. 

264 



MISCELLANEOUS. 205 

Mix by aid of heat until it forms an ointment Wash the parts 
with warm water and soap and anoint with this. Avoid eating any 
thing containing lard, also pork, salt meats, coffee, tea, etc., and bathe 
frequently in moderately cold water. 

FOR TETTER, RING WORM AND BARBER'S ITCH. 

Take the ashes of the best Havana cigar— the ashes that remain on 
the end when smoking. Wet the whole surface of the sore with 
the saliva from the mouth, and rub the ashes thoroughly into it. Do 
this three times a day, and in a week it will be cured. 

i 

FOR DISCOLORATIONS FROM BRUISES. 

Take a little dry starch or arrowroot, merely moisten it with cold 
water and place on the injured part. 

FOR CANCER. 

Take a common sticking plaster much larger than the cancer; cut 
a circular hole in the center a little larger than the cancer, leaving a 
rim of healthy skin ; then over the cancer place a plaster of the fol- 
lowing : 

Chloride of zinc, . . 1 ounce Flour 1 ounce 

Blood root, pulverized, . 1 " 

Work into a paste and appiy till the mass comes out, then poultice 
and treat as a common sore. This is the great English remedy, and 
has made wonderful cures. 

FOR FELONS. 

Burn copperas one tablespoonful, pulverize and mix with the yolk 
of an egg; this will relieve the pain and cure the felon in twenty-four 
hours. Then heal with cream two parts and soft soap one part. 
Apply the healing salve daily after soaking the part in warm water. 

FELON OINTMENT. 

Sweet oil, £ pint | Tobacco, . one 3 or 5 cent plug 

Stew until the tobacco is crisped, then squeeze it out and add 

Red lead, 1 ounce 

Boil until black. When a little cool add 

Pulverized camphor gum, 1 ounce 



2 ^3 DE LA BAXTa's ADVICE TO LADIES. 



TO CUKE VLXS. 

Dissolve copperas in water to make it strong. With a needle or 
sharp knife prick or cut the wen in a dozen places, just sufficient to 
make it bleed. Then wet thoroughly with copperas water once daily. 

This has removed as many as six as laro-e as hen's eo-o-s 
from the head of a single individual. 

TOAD OEVTMENT. 

Take four good sized live toads, put into boiling water and cook 
very soft. Take them out and boil the water down to a half pint and 
add fresh churned, unsalted butter one pound, and simmer together ; 
at the last add tincture of arnica two ounces. 

This may be thought hard on the toads, but it is said to 
be the quickest mode of killing them. 

FOE, CHRONIC RHEUMATISM. 

Alcohol 1 ounce I Sweet spirits of niter, . 1 ounce 

Spirits of turpentine, .1 " | Oil of juniper, .... 1 " 

Rub well into the parts and take ten drops at bed time in water. 
This has cured a case of two years' standing in four weeks' time. 

ANOTHER. 

Kerosene oil, ... 3 ounces | Skunk's oil, .... 1 ounce 
Mix and shake when applied. Put it on freely and heat by a fire. 

ANOTHER. 

Coal oil is the best thing that can be used. 

FOR INFLAMMATORY RHEUMATISM. 



Colchicum root or seed, i ounce 
Nutmegs, i " 



Sulphur 1 ounce 

Saltpeter, 1 " 

Gum guaiac, . ■ . . 4- " 

Pulverize and mix with 
Simple sirup or molasses, 2 ounces 



MISCELLANEOUS. 267 

Dose, one teaspoonful every two hours until it moves the bowels 
freely, then three or lour times daily until cured. This is one of the 
best remedies ever discovered. 

ANOTHER. 

Olive oil, £ pint | Saltpeter, £ ounce 

Mix and bathe the parts affected. It is a sure cure. 

FOR NEURALGIA AND RHEUMATISM. 



Oil of origanum, . . 2 ounces 
Carbonate of ammonia, 

pulverized, ... 1 " 



Burning fluid, ... 1 pint 
Oil of cedar, .... 2 ounces 
Oil of hemlock, . . 2 " 
Oil of sassafras, ... 2 

Mix. Apply to the face by wetting brown paper and laying on 
the parts, not too long, for fear of blistering. For toothache apply 
with lint or cotton, and to the nerves and gums around the tooth. 

FOR TOOTHACHE AND NEURALGIA. 



Oil of cloves, . . . £ drachm 
Oil of lavender, ... 1 " 
Sulphuric ether, . . £ ounce 



Best alcohol, .... 1 ounce 

Laudanum, £ " 

Chloroform (liq. meas.), f " 
Gum camphor, ... £ " 

Apply with lint or cotton. If a nerve be exposed this will quiet 
it. Rub it on the gums and on the face opposite the tooth freely. It 
will also cure ulcerated teeth as if by magic. 

ANOTHER. 

Spirits of wine, ... £ ounce Sal ammoniac, ... £ ounce 
Opodeldoc, . ... £ " 
Apply externally as other lotions. 

GOOD SAMARITAN LINIMENT. 

The following will be found excellent for rheumatism 
and kindred ailments : 

Take 98 per cent, alcohol and add the following articles : Oils of 
sassafras, hemlock, spirits of turpentine, tinctures of cayenne, cate- 
chu, guaicaci (guaiac), and laudanum, 1 ounce each; tincture of 



268 DE la banta's advice to ladies. 

myrrh, 4 ounces ; oil of origanum, 2 ounces ; oil of wintergreen, i 
ounce ; gum camphor, 2 ounces ; and chloroform 1£ ounces. For a 
general liniment nothing surpasses this. 

FOR SPINAL WEAKNESS. 

Put into a pint bottle oil of origanum, wormwood, spirits of tur- 
pentine and gum camphor, one ounce each, and fill the bottle with 
the best alcohol. This can also be taken internally for coughs. 

GREAT LONDON LINIMENT. 

Chloroform, olive oil and aqua ammonia, 1 ounce each, acetate of 
morphia, 10 grains. Mix and use as other liniments. This is very 
valuable. 

FOR SCARLET FEVER. 

Give plenty of warm lemonade with gum arabic dissolved in it. 
A cloth should be wrung out in hot water and laid upon the stomach. 
This cures ninety - nine cases t)ut of every hundred. 

FOR SCARLET FEVER AND SMALL -FOX. 

The following is from the London Scalpel, the highest 
medical authority in the world, and is given as an infallible 
cure: 

Sulphate of zinc, ... 1 grain Sugar, . . . . i teaspoonful 
Foxglove (digitalis), . . 1 " 

Mix with two tablespoonfuls of water. Take a spoonful every 
hour. For a child, smaller doses according to age. 

Either disease will disappear in twelve hours. It adds 
that if this treatment were employed by physicians no pest 
houses would be needed. 

FOR SICK HEADACHE. 

- Take two teaspoonfuls of pulverized charcoal, stir it into a glass 
of water and drink. It will give relief in fifteen minutes, when 
caused, as it usually is, by a too plentiful supply of acid on the 
stomach. This is a very simple yet effectual remedy. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 2G9 

FOR RUSH OF BLOOD TO THE IIEAD. 

This is sometimes very serious in its nature. It arises 
from numerous causes, as for instance, the emotions, men- 
tal overwork, and often from a constantly stooping or bent 
attitude at manual labor. In its chronic stages it is scarcely 
susceptible of cure, yet, by administering such remedies as 
invigorate the general system, especially the circulation, 
and by guarding against those things that are known to 
increase the derangement, much relief can be obtained. 
In its incipient stages, with proper care in avoiding known 
causes, the following treatment will work a cure. ( All 
headache arising from determination of blood to the head 
will also be relieved. 

Podopliyllin, . . . . 2i grains | Sugar of milk, . . . 10 grains 
Mix and make into ten powders. Dose, one every night. 

ANOTHER. 

F. L. aconite, .... 10 drops S. syrup, 3 ounces 

F. L. belladonna, ... 5 " 

Dose, teaspoonful every two hours until somewhat relieved. 
Afterward less frequently and as desired. 

Those subject to rush of blood to the head should eat 
plain food and abstain from stimulating drinks. Standing 
with the feet in warm water and showering the head with 
cold draws the blood from the head. Do this when bathing. 

FOR NERVOUSNESS. 

The following pill will be found invaluable in all kinds 
of nervousness, nervous headache, sleeplessness, palpita- 
tion of the heart, rush of blood to the head, failure of 
memory, confusion of thought, and all nervous debility of 
however long standing. 
19 



270 1>E LA BANTa's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

Take of alcoholic extract of the ignatia amara (St. Ignatius' bean), 
30 grains; powdered gum arabic, 10 grains; make into forty pills. 
Dose, one pill to be taken an hour after breakfast, and one an hour 
before retiring at night. Half a pill is enough for young, very old 
or delicate people. The pill may be cut by laying on a damp cloth 
a few moments. 

The extract is made by pulverizing the seed or bean and 
putting it into alcohol for fourteen days, then evaporating 
to the consistence necessary to work into a pill mass with 
the gum. 

HEART DISEASE. 

A milk diet strictly adhered to will, it is claimed by a 
noted physician, relieve persons afflicted with certain forms 
of heart disease. The palpitation diminishes under the 
influence of this diet, together with the congested condi- 
tion of the face, the brain and lungs. The patient will 
experience a vast and unexpected improvement. This 
treatment may be the means of effectually curing many 
cases, and prolonging the life of others in cases where a 
permanent cure can not be expected. 



SIRUP FOR DROPSY. 

Mandrake root, ... 2 ounces 
Prickly ash berries or 

bark, 2 " 

Bitter sweet, bark of the 

root, 2 " 

White mustard, ... 2 " 
Holland gin, .... 1 pint 



Juniper berries, ... 4 ounces 

Queen of the meadow 
root, 4 

Dwarf elder flower ber- 
ries or inner bark, . 4 " 

Horse radish root, . . 4 " 

Pod milk weed (known 
as silk weed), ... 4 " 
Pour boiling water upon all except the gin, and keep hot for 

twelve hours; then boil and pour oft twice; boil again to three 

quarts and strain, adding three pounds of sugar, and lastly the gin. 

Dose, one wineglass full, or more, if the stomach will bear it, four 

times daily. This should be taken in connection with the following: 



MISCELLANEOUS. 271 



DROPSY PILLS. 



Cayenne, 85 grains 

Castile soap, shaved, 

dry and pulverized, . 20 " 
Croton oil, .... 90 drops 



Jalap, 50 grains 

Gamboge, 30 " 

Podophyllin, ... 20 " 

Elaterium, 10 " 

Aloes, 30 M 

Powder all finely and mix thoroughly, then form into pill mass 
by using a thick mucilage made of equal parts of gum arabic and 
tragacanth, and divide into pills of three grains each. Dose, one 
pill every two days for the first week, then every three or four days 
until the water is evacuated by the combined aid of the pill with the 
above syrup. 

This is very thorough; we expect it to be so; it is 
necessary that it should be. Don't mind any sickness at 
the stomach nor the numerous evacuations. It is a disease 
that demands thorough work. Should weakness follow 
continued treatment, take beef tea, wine and rich diet and 
go ahead. No danger need be apprehended. This pill is 
good for bilious colic and other cases hard to operate on. 

ANOTHER. 

A handful of wild thyme, same quantity of star root (root and top), 
and a tablespoonful of anvil dust in a quart of strong cider vinegar. 
Let it stand twelve hours ; take a teaspoonful three times a day. This 
is known to have cured several bad cases. 

FOR BRONCHOCELE. 

Iodine, 1 drachm Water, 2£ ounces 

Iodide of potassium, . 2 " 

Mix, shake well and put into a phial. For internal use the dose is 
from five to ten drops before each meal, to be taken in a little w T ater. 
When used externally wet the enlarged neck with a feather (using 
another bottle) night and morning until well. Do not omit the use 
even if the skin peels off. It has performed wonderful cures, and is 
the best known. 



272 DE la baxta's advice to ladies. 

FOR RECENT PARALYSIS. 

When paralysis has existed for some time any attempt 
to cure it is almost hopeless, but if recent, much benefit 
may be derived from the following treatment, if not a 
permanent cure. 

Sulphuric ether, . . 6 ounces j Laudanum, .... 1 ounce 

Alcohol 2 " I Oil of lavender, ... 1 " 

Mix and cork tightly. Let the whole of the benumbed surface be 
thoroughly bathed and rubbed with this preparation for several min- 
utes, using the hand, three times a day ; at the same time take inter- 
nally twenty drops in a little sweetened water to prevent translation 
upon some internal organ. Keep the parts covered with flannel with 
a good deal of friction with the hand. Electricity properly applied 
is good. This treatment in old cases will often prove valuable. For 
pains in the stomach or side a teaspoonful of the above mixture will 
have a wonderful effect. For pain in the head apply to the surface, 
but always take some internally when using externally. 

CATARRH. 

Of all cures for this loathsome disease none has proved 
more effectual than salt water, as strong as can be borne. 
The best method is to take a nasal douche, put in a pint 
of tepid water, and from one to two tablespoonfuls of fine 
table salt. Shake well and follow the directions for using 
the douche. Thus the numerous cavities and canals in the 
head where mucus accumulates from colds, stopping the pas- 
sages and causing inflammation, influenza, and eventually 
catarrh, are penetrated by the water entering one nostril 
and coming" out the other, and out of the mouth. Xo 
remedy in the world is better than this, the opinions of 
doctors who would prescribe costly and worthless nos- 
trums to the contrary notwithstanding. If you can not 
get the douche, snuff the salt water from the hand up 




OUIDA, (Long Neck). 

272 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



273 



both nostrils until it is tasted in the throat. Repeat this 
at least twice a day, morning and night. 

ANOTHER. 

This is better for recent colds in the head and incipient 
catarrh. It will cure an ordinary case of influenza in ten 
hours. 



Chloroform, 



7 drops 



Carbolic acid, ... 10 drops 

Iodine, 7 " 

Heat a few drops of the mixture over a spirit lamp, in a test tube, 
applying the mouth of the tube to the nostrils as soon as the liquid 
vaporizes. Repeat the operation every two minutes, when a number 
of vigorous sneezes will result. This done for a few days the worst 
cold will succumb. 

ANOTHER. 

The following is suggested as valuable : 
Crude iodine. ... 1 drachm [ Chloroform, .... 2 ounces 

Put the mixture in a four ounce phial and inhale air from the phial 
four times a day. For catarrh apply the finger to the nose after 
inhaling, thus causing the air to pass from the mouth into the head. 
Keep the bottle well stopped to prevent the air escaping. A little 
practice will enable one to inhale easily, and it is not unpleasant. 
Three or four inhalations are sufficient at one time. 



AYER'S CHERRY PECTORAL. 



Sirup of wild cherry, . 3 ounces 
Wine of ipecacuanha, 2 " 



New England rum, 



Antimonial wine, . 
Acetate of morphia, 

COUGH REMEDY. 

3 ounces | Refined honey, . . 



2 ounces 
4 grains 

8 ounces 



Mix thoroughly. Dose, one tablespoonful often as necessary. 



COUGH LOZENGES. 



Extract of blood root, . i ounce 
Black cohosh, . . . £ " 

Licorice, £ " 

Tincture of opium, . . £ " 
Ipecac, \ " 

Mix all together and add 
Pulverized sugar, 3 ounces 



Lobelia, \ ounce 

Powdered gum arabic, . f " 
Powdered starch, . . f " 
Powdered cayenne, . 10 grains 



274 de la banta's advice to ladies. 

Should it be too dry to roll into lozenges, add a thick solution of 
gum arabic to give it the necessary consistence, and should it get too 
moist, add more sugar. Divide into 320 lozenges. Dose, one from 
three to six times a day. 

brown's bronchial troches. 



Powdered cubebs, . . 4 ounces 
Gum arabic, in thick 

solution, .... 4 " 



Ext. of conium, powd. . 1 ounce 
" licorice, " . 1 pound 
Sugar, H " 



Mix and make into common sized wafers or lozenges. Should the 
mixture be too moist, add more sugar, if too dry, add more gum 
arabic. 

FOR SORE THROAT. 

A poultice of wormwood boiled in sweet milk and applied to the 
throat will give relief in a few hours. 

PERRY DAVIS 1 PAIjST KILLER. 



Gum camphor, . . . i ounce 
Powdered cayenne, . . 1 " 



Alcohol, 1 quart 

Gum guaiac, .... 1 ounce 

" myrrh, . . . . i 

Mix. Shake occasionally for a week of ten days and filter or let 
settle for use. Apply freely to surface pains or it may be taken in 
teaspoonful doses for internal pains. 

FOR HYDROPHOBIA. 

It is reported that the virulent poison, wourali, found in 
South America, hypodermically injected in separate doses 
of one third of a grain each, will cure the bite of a mad 
dog. It has been used with most gratifying results in one 
or two cases in Jersey City. 

TO STOP THE FLOW OF BLOOD. 

The following mode of stopping the flow of blood should 
be remembered by every one. Housekeepers, mechanics, 
and others handling knives, tools and other small instru- 



MISCELLANEOUS. 275 

merits, frequently receive severe cuts from which blood 
flows profusely, often endangering life itself. Blood may 
be made to cease to flow as follows : Take the fine dust 
of tea and bind it close to the wound. It is always 
accessible and easy to be obtained. After the blood has 
ceased to flow, laudanum may be advantageously applied 
to the wound. Due regard to these instructions would save 
agitation of mind, and running for a surgeon, who proba- 
bly would make no better prescription if he were present. 
Equal quantities of common salt and wheat flour bound on 
plentifully will stop blood on man or beast. 

A CURE FOR LOCKJAW. 

Dr. Demarquay has discovered a new method of treating 
that species of lockjaw which is caused by wounds. It 
possesses this advantage over all other methods that have 
been tried, that while they have invariably failed, it has 
been successful in two cases. It appears that the persons 
attacked by lockjaw are particularly sensitive to cold, 
which aggravates all their symptoms and greatly increases 
their sufferings. Accordingly Dr. Demarquay placed his 
two patients — one of whom had received a deep wound in 
the calf of his leg, while in the other case the lockjaw 
seizure had followed upon the amputation of a limb — in a 
room heated at from 64° to 72° Fahrenheit, where they 
could perspire freely without fear of draughts. The 
spasms and muscular contractions which form the chief 
features in lockjaw were relieved by intra - muscular injec- 
tions of morphine, the places selected for these injections 
being those where the muscular contractions were most 
painful. The result of this treatment was that the patients 



276 de la bakta's advice to ladies. 

were soon able to open their mouths and assuage their ter- 
rible thirst, which is one of the attendants upon lockjaw, 
and they ultimately recovered. 

TREATMENT FOR DYSPEPSIA. 

Let me say at once that you may take medicine for this 
ailment until you die, and unless you will observe the fol- 
lowing directions you will have dyspepsia. Let spirituous 
liquors, wines, also beers, tea, coffee, hot bread or biscuit, 
and highly seasoned food alone. If you must take stimu- 
lant let it be extremely light, even tea and coffee. Do not 
eat until you are hungry. The trouble with dyspeptics is 
they never get hungry, especially if they eat three meals 
a day. When hungry, eat little and drink nothing. Leave 
the table hungry. Don't follow the usual suggestion to eat 
"little and often," but eat a little at the right time. Do 
not eat that which you find hurts you. If you feel a heat 
in the stomach at bed time, wet a towel in cold water, 
wring it out, and lay over the stomach, covering with a dry 
flannel. Keep it on during the night and at subsequent 
times as may be needed. For breakfast eat half a potato, 
about two inches square of steak, a small piece of cold 
wheat or " Yankee brown bread." Eat very slowly, chew 
your food thoroughly and swallow without tea, coffee or 
water. And do not for your life drink a drop of anything 
until one hour before meal time again, and then as little as 
possible. You may think this hard, but let me ask is it 
harder than the suffering you have endured? Again, ascer- 
tain whether you suffer from the abundance of food or the 
kind. If from the former, take less; if from the latter, 
change the kind. Do not expect to be cured in a : 



MISCELLANEOUS. 27 7 

weeks or months. Recollect, you have dyspepsia from years 
of indulgence in high living. It may take several months, 
may be a year of watchfulness and self-denial, before you 
are well. Even then to overeat may set you back for 
months. Simply make up your mind to get hungry always 
before eating; eat only simple food and small quantities, 
drinking nothing, and be careful until you know you are 
well, for of all diseases dyspepsia is most liable to a 
relapse. I have taken these facts from Dr. Chase, in whose 
valuable book you may find dyspepsia and its cure more 
fully treated. I borrow from him because his is the most 
common sense treatment for this terrible disease that I 
have found, and I am sure that if any dyspeptic follows it, 
it is impossible for him to remain long a sufferer. 

ANOTHER. 

I find in an exchange the following, which may prove 
good : Take the sack or lining of a chicken's gizzard, clean 
thoroughly, dry and pulverize. For an adult, one teaspoon- 
ful is a dose; for a child, one fourth to one half as much. 
It is said to have cured very severe cases. 

FOR SEA SICKNESS. 

A French physician, Dr. Girald, much troubled with sea 
sickness when on the water, crossed the channel from 
France to England twice and back without suffering the 
usual nausea, by taking the following: 



Chloral, 45 grains 

Gooseberry sirup, . . 2 ounces 



Distilled water, . . \\ ounces 
Essence of peppermint, 2 drops 



He took half this dose upon starting, and was not 
troubled through the night occupied in the passage. On 
his return he took the remaining portion, and arrived home 
without any sea sickness whatever. 



278 DE la banta's advice to ladies. 



TO PREVENT MOSQUITOES BITENG. 

Carbolic acid (purest), 50 drops Glycerine, 1 ounce 

Otto of roses, .... 3 " 

Apply to exposed parts, upon retiring. 

SCENT POWDER FOR WARDROBES, TRUNKS, ETC. 



Lavender flowers, . 10 ounces 
Rhodium, . . . . i drachm 
Musk or ambergris, 5 grains 



Coriander, 1 ounce 

Orris root, 1 " 

Hose leaves, .... 1 " 
Aromatic calamus, . . 1 " 

Mix and reduce to a coarse powder. This is as fine to perfume 
the clothes as if flowers had been pressed in them. 

TO REMOVE A TIGHT RING. 

Wind a piece of common twine, well soaped, as tightly as pos- 
sible around the finger, commencing at the tip, and, winding until 
the ring is reached, press the end under the ring with the head of a 
needle and unwind. The ring will come off with it. 

TO LOOSEN STOPPERS OF TOILET BOTTLES. 

Let a drop of oil flow around the stopper and stand it about a foot 
from the fire. After a time tap it smartly, but not too hard, with the 
handle of a hair brush. If then it does not loosen, add a fresh drop 
of oil. 

TO CLEAN JEWELRY. 

Wash gold with soap and water, after which scrub with a soft 
nail brush and dry in a box of sawdust, by placing the ornaments in 
it before the fire. Imitation jewelry in the same manner. 

To clean toilet silver ware, take a spoonful of common whiting, 
free from lumps ; reduce to a paste with gin. 

POLISH FOR LADIES' SHOES. 

A first-class polish for shoes may be compounded as 

follows: 

Take three fourths of a pint of spirits of wine, five pints of white 
wine one half pound powdered gum Senegal, six ounces of loaf 



MISCELLANEOUS. * 279 

sugar, two ounces powdered galls, four ounces of green copperas. 
Dissolve the gum and sugar in the wine, and wiien dissolved strain, 
then put over a slow fire, taking care that it does not boil. In this 
state put in the galls, copperas, and alcohol, stirring it well for five 
minutes. Then remove from the fire, and when nearly cool strain 
through flannel and bottle for use. Apply with a fine brush or sponge. 
If not sufficiently black, a little sulphate of iron and half a pint of 
strong decoction of logwood may be added, with the sixteenth of an 
ounce of pearlash. 



Make -Up. 



Whatever the natural beauty of a person, there are none 
who may not be improved by artistic make-up. I refer 
particularly to the face. Any one by a little study and 
practice may become skilled in this art. Great care is 
necessary that it be not overdone, and cause one to appear 
bizarre. Like dress and ornaments, all artistic additions 
must be in harmony with the complexion of the wearer. 
There are but about three distinct types of visage, and 
their intermediate shades: the brunette, blonde and auburn 
or red blonde. Accompaniments of the first are usually 
dark hair, brows, lashes, skin and eyes. Presuming the 
face to be ordinarily fair and free from blemishes (or if 
these are present we will suppose them remedied all that 
is possible), the face should be carefully powdered, after 
having first been lightly touched with some of the face 
liquids or creams previously mentioned, in order to render 
it clear and enable it better to receive and retain the pow- 
der. A pellet of talc or chalk in a piece of linen crushed 
between the fingers in water and then rubbed on the face 
is excellent and easily applied. Let this be put on evenly. 
If preferred, those liquid preparations that whiten, as 
toiletine, may be used. If there be a lack of color in the 
cheeks they should be slightly touched with a little carmine 

280 




MISS De M , (French Type, Xeck and Shoulders). 

280 



MAKE - UP. 281 

diluted with water, or rouge, imparting the least discernible 
shade of red, or sufficient color may be obtained by pinch- 
ing or rubbing them briskly a few moments, the color thus 
produced lasting for hours. If the lips are dull or pale or 
blue, they should also be very lightly touched with red, or 
may be rubbed with a tooth brush, which will redden them. 
Let me urge especially that neither the white nor the red be 
too pronounced, but as near to nature as possible. Let it 
be rather too little than too much. This accomplished, 
hold a bit of china over a blaze until black, then with a 
small stick or pencil (sticks of pigment for this purpose 
may be obtained at the drug stores), touch the brows, 
defining their shape but making them always narrow and 
delicate, and not too dark for the hair. Also blacken the 
lashes, and trace a slightly darkened line along the angle 
of the eye - lid at the base of the lashes. If you desire the 
dark, rather suggestive, circle below the eyes, which gives a 
delicate, not to say blase look, touch the finger to the black 
and wet with water, then define very lightly the lower 
arc of the socket, where a dim line naturally appears, 
also all between it and the eye may be just a shade dark, 
which gives a languid expression. This treatment of the 
brows, lashes and lids may be applied to either of the 
blondes, and all intermediate or neutral types, but in a 
greater or less degree as the individual is dark or light. 
This, as with the white and red, must not be too pro- 
nounced. When skillfully done it renders the eyes large, 
full, brilliant and almond shaped in appearance, and always 
enhances beauty. By tipping the edges of the nostrils 
and ears with the faintest pink, the make-up is complete. 
In the use of red about the face, put it only where nature 



282 de la baxta's advice to ladies. 

would. Especially on the cheeks it should not be too low. 
Never let powder or any white be glaringly apparent on 
the face; it is extremely coarse. Worse still are those 
hideous compounds advertised, which impart a bluish or 
pink tint to the skin. The lady who will appear in public 
with her face covered with a coating of these unnatural 
tints, is without any sense of beauty, and displays unpar- 
donable vulgarity. In the use of artificial means to beau- 
tify, be exceedingly chary, as they always show in the light 
more than you are aware. As you treat the face, treat the 
neck and hands. 

Proper arrangement of the hair adds much to the facial 
ensemble. Ringlets clustering in apparent abandon on the 
forehead are becoming to nearly all. (See page 80.) Arti- 
ficial aids should be sought as little as possible in the make- 
up. In seeking to conceal the ravages of years, more skill 
is requisite, but rules of harmony should be observed. In 
dyeing the hair, the color should be made to suit the years 
of the wearer. Years are no disgrace, and we should only 
strive to make them sit as lightly upon us as possible, but 
not endeavor to ignore them, for we can never succeed in 
deceiving, and only make a display of ridiculous sensitive- 
ness. 



The Voice. 



To the eye, forms of beauty and delicate shades of color 
appeal; to the sense of smell come the odors of flowers; 
and to the hearing the songs of birds, the winds and 
waters; melodious strains from pipes and horns and reeds 
and strings fall sweetly upon the ears of the refined, 
and also, we are reminded, have " charms to soothe the 
savage breast." Above all, it is said, the tones of the 
human voice, especially in chorus, exceed in beauty all 
other sounds or combinations of sounds. Perhaps there is 
nothing about us so susceptible to cultivation with pros- 
pects of extraordinary development as the voice ; and 
while at best a very few are noted in this particular, even 
they with Nature's gifts have acquired perfection only bv 
long years of difficult practice coupled with persistent 
study and determination to succeed. I refer to celebrated 
singers. With them, however, and their training Ave have 
nothing to do, save as the methods they employ shall 
accomplish the results we desire, viz.: to acquire smooth- 
ness, clearness and richness of tone, scope and power. 
And these are so simple I scarcely know in what manner 
to best present them. 

First, it is necessary to learn to breathe, not alone from 
the thorax or chest, but from the diaphragm. Old physiol- 

283 



£84 DE LA BAXTa's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

ogists have declared that the lungs of women are so 
constructed as not to admit of their breathing below the 
upper portion of the chest, or principally so. This has 
been proved entirely false. Women breathe as deep down 
as men, and may benefit as much from training, in point of 
health and culture, although the feminine voice is limited 
to the head tone, which is as it should be. The tones may 
be classed differently, but they are produced by the same 
organs, and all must be cultivated to secure perfection. 
The chief requisites of the voice are as follows : First, 
locality or tone ; to this belong quality, purity, etc. Sec- 
ond, capacity, which embodies range, flexibility, etc. 
Third, volume, determining the quantity, fullness, etc. 
Fourth, Expression, meaning the manner of use, etc. 
Fifth, power, determining the force, etc. We may deem 
the latter, though last in point of culture, first in the pro- 
cess of training, and to secure it the lungs must perform 
their functions well. Again I say. learn to breathe. Yon 
can do this no better than to follow that portion of my 
treatment on "The Figure" for developing the chest. I 
may repeat, however, the latter portion of it, which is as 
follows : Stand in the fresh air each morning, and through 
a quill draw in the breath, at the same time raising the 
arms from the side until they meet extended above the 
head, then clasp and bring them down upon the top of the 
head. Gauge the raising of the hands and inhaling so that 
when the lungs are full, the hands shall be clasped on the 
head. When unable to hold the breath longer, unclasp the 
hands, extend them upward and outward, and let fall 
slowlv by the side simultaneously with the expulsion of 
the breath. This alone will have a wonderful effect in a 



Tin-: voice. "^85 

few weeks or months at least. This development of the 
chest is the first and substantial means of breathing per- 
fectly, which, as I have said, is the first requisite to a good 
vocalization; therefore the practice named is principally to 
expand the chest, give freedom to the organs of the throat 
and lungs, and to the muscles a vigorous, healthy action, 
besides establishing that firm foundation desired for a 
powerful, musical voice. In the mean time, begin after 
inhaling to sound low and clear as possible the syllable do, 
prolonging it until the lungs are empty. Repeat this 
often. Again, practice laughing as deep and long as possi- 
ble, using the syllable ha. Practice the low tones of the 
voice and also explosives, as for instance the letter h spoken 
forcibly from the chest. Run the scale, do, re, mi, etc., up 
and down, and skip about after the examples given in 
lessons for practice found in music books. 

In conversation watch the pitch of the voice and train* it 
to a low, musical, soft tone. Keep the throat clear of 
obstructions. Practice speaking slowly and distinctly. 
Take short selections, prose or poetry, and read in a dis- 
tinct whisper; also in a half audible tone and a whisper. 
Nothing is better to render smooth a rough or hoarse voice 
than much whispering. Also practice reading aloud, keep- 
ing- the tones modulated. Elocution in all its branches 
never fails to benefit the voice; in fact, it is an important 
branch of physical and polite culture. 

The round, flat, squeaking, piping, hoarse or guttural, 
and nasal tones of the voice are due to imperfect action of 
the larynx. If the passage be open and round, the tones 
will be full and round; if the hole in the throat, so to 
speak, be flat in shape, a flat, disagreeable voice will be the 
20 



286 de la banta's advice to ladies. 

result. Other qualities are dependent in the same measure 
upon the shape and condition of this organ. Exercising 
plentifully in fresh air can not be overvalued. 

A hasty manner of speaking and too much deliberation 
are both objectionable. Distinct utterance and articula- 
tion are to be sought. The pitch of the voice should 
always be suited to the surroundings. Avoid speaking 
continuously, or singing in the open air. 

Stammering, lisping, loss of voice, etc., it is not my 
province to speak of in this connection; they are subject 
to complete remedy by proper treatment. 

It is well when using the voice to suck at a lemon occa- 
sionally. Wachtel, the German tenor, is n.ever without his 
lemon when singing. Five or six drops of diluted nitric 
acid several times a day will be found of benefit. A 
gargle of salt and water, or cold water night and morning, 
or a weak solution of tannic acid or alum every morning 
will prevent and remedy hoarseness. When this is present, 
inhaling the fumes of iodine, or the steam from hot water 
poured on chlorate of potash, or taking slowly the white 
of an egg beaten up with sugar, will prove beneficial. 
The protection of the throat should not be neglected if 
troubles from colds would be avoided. 

I have here given the principal rules for securing a strong, 
full and clear voice. It is for you to practice them. They 
are simple and obtainable by all, and constitute the basis 
of the only system of training the voice that has proved 
effectual. But you must not begin and end in a week or 
a month. Persist in it, and you will continue to improve. 
It is the universal verdict among great singers that alco- 
holic or malt liquors are exceedingly injurious to the voice. 



The Home 



Sadly apparent is the dissatisfaction with the golden mean 
— the morbid impulse to sweep through a wider sphere 
that influences society; and grave fears are well grounded 
that the sweet influences of home are no longer sufficient 
to form the chief social enjoyment of American society. 
In this direction we see deo-eneracv written on the wall. 

Children are becoming fewer and true mothers rarer still. 
Where children should be a blessing they are an intruding 
necessity, unwelcome visitors, and too often where they 
should have the privileges of mud pies and Sunday schools 
under the kindly supervision of home, they enjoy the one 
around the town pump and the other at the street mission. 
So the waifs, with no place for them and little attention, 
struggle through existence without really knowing what 
motherly affection and care are. 

The ideal husband goes home at night with glad foot- 
step to his gate, where he finds a fond wife awaiting him 
with a loving kiss; the kettle is singing merrily, the white 
cloth is spread; rosy cherubs clamber to his knees, and 
white arms twine around his neck; and " while the bub- 
bling and loud hissing urn " throws up its steamy column, 
and "the cup that cheers but not inebriates waits on each," 
they range themselves before the cheerful fire, and " usher 

287 



288 DE la banta's advice to ladies. 

peaceful evening in," with the sweetest and sacredest of 
home joys. The reality alas! is too frequently a blase old 
young man, boarding at the hotel, adjourning to the 
billiard room, the bar, or worse; and awaking before 
middle age to the fact that he is an old man before his 
time, and that his life has been wrecked. 

It depends largely upon woman which of these outlines 
shall picture the life of most men. They may make the 
home so attractive that none but the worthless and inher- 
ently vicious can remain outside of 'its charmed influence; 
or by extravagance and vanity on the one hand or slat- 
ternly negligence on the other make men think it better 
to take care of their own happiness rather than trust it to 
one who shows so little evidence of ability to guard it well. 

Woman may be well assured that the surest pathway to 
the highest happiness and honor lies through the peaceful 
domain of wifehood and motherhood. Society should not 
cease to find her at its shrine at times, but it should also 
not fail to find her " at home." If her influence be proper, 
her husband will be her firmest friend, her constant com- 
panion, her best society. Her head, instead of concocting 
papers for the Sorosis and plans for alleviating the imaginary 
grievances of her "downtrodden sex," will be concerned 
how she may best make home pleasant. Her hands will 
expend their skill upon ornamentation. Her mind will 
seek the true sources of culture and occupy itself with the 
education of her children to fit them for the eventualities 
of life. The simplest belongings of the domestic hearth 
appeal most deeply to her nature and call into action latent 
feelings that she knew not of. To the true woman home 
is her throne: to be deposed from it pulls sadly UDon her 



THE HOME. 2S ( .) 

heart-strings. How her interest becomes absorbed in it, 
how contented she is where it is her choice, and how her 
heart clings to its scenes and associations, women best can 
tell. 

But home, we must remember, is not always what we 
would have it. Frequently, through necessity for making 
the most out of the least, a woman's taste and invention 
find ample scope, and are* too often taxed beyond their 
capacity. I can not speak of the equal duties of the 
husband in this connection, but it is of course a fact that 
his more substantial aid is needed and expected, though 
not always rendered. Even under the most adverse cir- 
cumstances, woman may by her power hold the home to- 
gether, and much of the responsibility attaches to her if it 
is wrecked. 

It requires but little to make a home where the tender 
hands of woman are happy in arranging it. It is chiefly 
the spirit that pervades it, the consideration in which it is 
held. It is often said "home is nothing without children." 
Certainly it -should be a home to them, nor should it be 
icithout them. Those reared without such influences are 
little better than Gipsies or Bohemians. Home can not 
exist without marriage; marriage is natural; therefore to 
make home, you must first marry. This lies wholly with 
women; if they desire to marry, they can do so. Let 
mothers rear their girls under the feeling that the woman's 
kingdom is the fireside and the nursery. 

I appeal to women because I know their power to make 
the home all it should be. Let fashion, love of display, or 
false ideas of social charlatans have their due weight, but 
when they interfere to demolish or cross the threshold of 



290 DE la banta's advice to ladies. 

marriage and home to do it injury, step upon them as you 
would upon a serpent. 

Man will marry when woman will do her share and not 
expect to eat, dress, and live in luxury while he toils. 
When woman decides to join him and his fortunes for good 
or ill, and let the consideration for the world be second, 
she will be his w T ife — "an help meet for him." That 
moment the foundations of the home are laid. Then, 
whether they may move to a mansion on the avenue, or 
take two rooms in a tenement, the conditions will be 
secured for the surest happiness. 

The minor belongings of home must not be forgotten. 
Music, books, flowers, pictures, birds and bric-a-brac 
should spring up within it as if by magic. They come as 
naturally as love; they are the home language of refine- 
ment; they reveal taste, culture, and a love of the beauti- 
ful; thev lead to happiness. 



Etiquette. 



A beautiful picture displays the art of the painter; 
inspiring music that of the musician; so deportment is the 
art of the ladv or gentleman. It germinates in the heart, 
and displays itself in quality just in proportion as educa- 
tion and culture have favored us. It takes shape in good 
nature and the desire to please and be pleasing, but only 
finds perfection in the highest culture, natural dignity and 
grace, and a respect for the feelings and rights of others. 
Good nature is often vulgar, blunt and offensive; good 
breeding refines, tones and finishes manner. Deportment, 
therefore, belongs to culture. Human nature in general is 
groveling; gentility of deportment is elevating. True 
and refined politeness is gentility crystallized. To act 
naturally is commendable, if nature be toned by culture; 
to act naturally without refinement is to act the boor. To 
be a true lady or gentleman, therefore, is to curb and mold 
our natural impulses, encourage our better promptings, 
associate only with the pure and refined, accustom our- 
selves to doing every thing decently, orderly and elegantly 
at all times, regarding the feelings of others, respecting 
ourselves, and allowing nothing to disturb a courteous, 
dignified behavior. Etiquette is simply decorum or man- 
ners systematized and adapted to the various phases of 

291 



292 DE la banta's advice to ladies. 

social intercourse, recognized and established by fashion 
able usage. 

It is a happy faculty to be able to appear well dressed. 
By this I do not mean gaudily or richly, but tastefully 
dressed. It is in the details of the wardrobe that refine- 
ment is displayed. Let the materials be ordinary or 
expensive, the result is the same. Dress, as well as the 
carriage, etc., is an index to character. It is also an art 
to dress well; therefore nobility of character, refinement 
of manners, and elegant dress harmonize in the true ladv 
or gentleman, and constitute the sole art of pleasing. 

As introductory to the following subjects in this con- 
nection, I may fitly quote the comments of the London 
Globe upon a little French volume recently published on 
the decline of good manners: 

The Countess de Bassanville, who is responsible for the Almanach 
du Savoir Vivre, admits the decline of good manners in France, for 
which she thinks Anglomania is to blame to a great extent, and does 
her best to remedy the evil by laying clown a code of etiquette and 
behavior of the most comprehensive description, embracing rules 
for the various incidents of social life from the correct way of raising 
a man's hat down to the usage to be followed in christening a ship 
or unfolding a table-napkin. According to this lady, who piques 
herself on being one of the old school, and therefore an incontestable 
authority, the ladies are as much to blame, if not more so, than the 
men. How is it, she asks, that now that ladies have ceased to be as 
ignorant as plow -boys, now that they are well read in astronomy, 
travels, and poetry, and can talk glibly on the evolution theory or 
the latest change in the ministry — how is it that men avoid the 
society of ladies and spend their time at the clubs or in still worse 
company? This is a question in which our own countrywomen are 
equally interested, and which our monitress and guide above men- 
tioned answers by charging the ladies with a want of common polite- 
ness toward the male sex. How few ladies, nowadays, are well bred 
enough to respond by a slight inclination of the head to the polite- 



ETIQUETTE. 293 

ncss of a man who makes way for them, whether in the street or on 
a crowded staircase! How often do they exercise Christian charily 
when a cavalier, in spite of all care and diligence, happens to have 
the misfortune to tread on their voluminous trains? The reward he 
acts for his apologies and pleas for pardon is too often only a black 
look, if not a less gentle and more audible rebuke. This being the 
case, it is high time to start on a crusade for the restoration of good 
manners and amiability, and the best and most elementary advice 
that can be given to both sexes, for perhaps both are equally default- 
ers, is not to be too sparing with what has been called the small 
change of courtesy, which costs so little and goes so far. 

VISITS. 

Friendly visits should be without ceremony. They can 
be made at all hours and without preparation. Suitable 
hours however, should be chosen, and the privilege should 
not be abused. It is unnecessary to keep any account of 
your friends' or relatives' visits, the one most at leisure calls 
on the other regardless of return visits. Afternoon and 
evening visits are more polite. Morning calls, more 
friendly and respectful, may be made with cards and pre- 
senting one's self, or by card alone. Visits of ceremony 
should be recorded, and the intervals noted at which they 
are returned, as by this you will be informed wdiether your 
acquaintances desire your visits to be more or less frequent. 
Ceremonious visits are usually made between noon and five 
o'clock in the afternoon; they should always be short. 
Should those you call on be about to go out or sit at table, 
retire as soon as possible. If other visitors call or strangers 
are engaged in conversation, you should address a few 
words to the master or mistress of the house, salute the 
company generally and depart. If when calling the servant 
informs you the person you wush to see is not at home, 



294 de la banta's advice to ladies. 

leave a card; this will entitle you to a return visit. A 
practice by no means commendable is that of visiting by 
card without any intention of seeing the person called upon. 
Visits to government officers, heads of departments and 
distinguished individuals should be extremely short, and 
you should not enter into conversation or interrupt them 
when engaged. A visitor calling upon a lady whose hus- 
band is not at home should not forget to express the hope 
that he is well, unless the wife and he are known to be 
uncongenial to each other, in which case no inquiry should 
be made. 

To receive visitors with grace and propriety is one of the 
highest accomjDlishments of a lady. Exquisite neatness, 
order, comfort and elegance should characterize the ap- 
pointments of the house. When persons enter, whether 
announced or not, rise at once, advance toward them and 
request them to be seated. Avoid the obsolete form, how- 
ever, of "Take the trouble to be seated" 

Should the lady in receiving a half ceremonious visit be 
sewing, she should lay her work aside immediately, only 
resuming it at the request of her visitor. She may request 
permission to resume it if the caller is an intimate acquaint- 
ance. If visits are wholly ceremonious it would be 
unpardonable to work an instant. It is best, even with 
friends, to be scarcely occupied with work, rather seeming 
to forget it in the pleasure of their society. 

Apropos to my remarks on the etiquette of calls, it is 
proper to speak of a mooted question, as yet undecided by 
many, as to the disposition a gentleman should make of his 
hat on entering the drawing room as a casual caller. It is 
the custom to place it on the rack in the vestibule. We 



ETIQUETTE. 21)5 

have seen it agitated recently by supposably excellent 
authority in the matter, who claim (and I am inclined, for 
various reasons, to favor the views taken) that the only 
proper thing to do is to retain the hat in the hand. It at 
least occupies the hands, to dispose of which is often very 
embarrassing to a gentleman. I suggest that gentlemen 
should retain the hat during any casual call, and ladies 
should not condemn it as a breach of good manners. 

Whether a lady is or is not intimate with a gentleman 
caller, she should never go beyond the parlor door when 
he leaves. Elderly women are not bound by this rule, but 
young ladies can not violate it without a sacrifice of 
dignity. 

PARTIES. 

A gentleman entering a drawing room where there are 
a number of persons, should salute with a respectful incli- 
nation of the head and pay his respects to the lady of the 
house, conversing at first only with the husband or host. 
On being presented to the ladies they should return his 
salutation by a gracious bow, but remain seated. When 
presented to one of their own sex, ladies should rise. 
Ladies should be seated while the gentlemen stand in 
groups. Should the number of seats be ample for all, the 
gentlemen may occupy them, or distribute themselves 
among the company, as is most agreeable and suitable to 
the occasion. 

Conversation should not be disturbed by persons enter- 
ing, however distinguished they may be. They will make 
a casual survey of those present, listen awhile and gradu- 
ally mingle in the conversation and pleasantries without at 



296 BE LA banta's advice to ladies. 

all attempting to attract special notice to themselves. If 
the conversation be not general, the subject lacking interest 
for all, the guests should separate into groups, each address- 
ing one or more of his or her neighbors on either hand. 
The ladies should take an active part, often the initiative, 
as it tends to relieve that stiffness that frequently prevails, 
particularly where there are a large number of strangers. 
Ladies have attracted adverse criticism concerning- their 
mental accomplishments and conversational powers by a 
characteristic reticence in social circles. While a number 
have always been able to appear to advantage and bril- 
liant — as most women can be if they only think so — thus 
partially retrieving the lost laurels of the sex in this respect, 
the majority of society ladies are slow to overcome a diffi- 
dence that often consigns them to the position of wall 
drapers or" wall flowers." No social gathering is endura- 
ble, where the sexes mingle, if the ladies do not lead out, 
and in addition to their superior charms and elegant toi- 
lettes, make the most of their wits, arts and acquirements, 
and ability to please, through conversation, manner and 
tact. In speaking to any one avoid leaning upon the 
person who happens to be between. Do not converse in a 
loud voice with any one upon private subjects, nor converse 
in a foreign language with others who may be able to speak 
it. Do not whisper to friends, or make side remarks relat- 
ing to any one present; it is decidedly objectionable. Do 
not withdraw abruptly in the midst of conversation in 
which you have been engaged; wait until it is finished, 
then saluting only the party with whom you have been 
talking, depart without taking leave of any of the guests, 
or the lady or gentleman of the house. 



ETIQUETTE. 207 

SOIREES, BALLS, ETC. 

Anticipating a plain evening party, where walking dresses 
of light summer stuffs may be worn, the lady giving verbal 
invitations should not omit to apprise her friends of this 
circumstance, lest they appear in unsuitable attire. How- 
ever, if the soiree is to be in fact a ball, the invitations 
should be expressed in the third person and written, or 
better still, printed. On arriving, the guests should be 
shown to a dressing room. A servant should be in attend- 
ance to assist in changing the outer garments. It is not 
essential to appear just at the hour appointed; indeed it is 
fashionable to go an hour or so late. Unmarried ladies 
should be accompanied by their mother or a chaperon. 
When seated they should be distributed around the room 
so as not to interfere with those who dance. The gentle- 
man of the house procures the ladies seats as they arrive, 
and again joins the gentlemen, who should be standing in 
groups or leisurely strolling about the room. Married 
ladies should be escorted by their husbands. Toilets 
should be made with extreme care. In the dance, when 
assured of a position, the gentleman should approach the 
lady he desires as a partner and ask her to do him the honor 
to dance with him. If she is engaged he should invite 
her for the next dance, but avoid asking any other lady in 
the immediate vicinity, as being unable to refuse, it might 
pique her at not having been asked first. It is impolite to 
invite a lady hastily, therefore gentlemen should not wait 
for the signal to take partners. This can only be allowed 
when necessary to complete a set. A lady can not refuse 
an invitation to dance unless she has accepted anothei 



DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

previously — it would be uncivil and might cause chagrin 
and ill feeling. 

The above rules relative to partners in the dance will 
apply to all occasions where dancing is a feature. It is 
seldom now, however, that a party or soiree is given where 
programmes are not provided. It is proper that the lady 
give her attendant the first number for the evening; the 
rest of her programme she may fill as pleases her, her 
escort sharing- her favors with other admirers. 

Do not talk too much when on the floor, nor whisper 
incessantly in your partner's ear. It is the duty of the 
gentleman of the house to see that all the ladies dance, or 
are invited, that the wall -flowers shall not be too plentiful; 
he should be discreet in order not to wound the sensitive- 
ness of ladies so unfortunate. It is well to occasionally 
introduce what is termed a "leap year"' dance. It will 
vary the programme and flatter the vanity of the gentle- 
men, besides allowing a number of them to act as wall 
drapery, by giving the ladies carte blanche to invite part- 
ners. I never saw this fail to add much to the enjoyment. 
Gentlemen requested by the master of the house to dance 
with ladies, that they may not be slighted, should accede 
with seeming pleasure, at being thus brought to their notice. 
Those ladies most favored should be careful not to boast 
of the number of dances programmed for in advance, in 
the presence of those who dance but seldom. They should 
recommend the less fortunate to their gentlemen acquaint- 
ances. It is always agreeable in giving the hand in any 
figure of the dance, to smile and accompany it with a 
slight bow as a polite salutation. The gentleman conduct- 
ing; a ladv to a seat should bow and thank her for the honor 



ETIQUETTE. 299 

conferred. She should courtesy politely, and smile with 
a gracious air in return. Persons not skilled in dancing 
should never take part in the square dance, as they create 
confusion and annoyance, marring the pleasure of others. 
However, if in the set and unfamiliar with the figure, they 
should take the second or fourth position and watch the 
others, when they may soon be able to follow without mis- 
take. Apprise one gently who makes an error, but do not 
instruct as if giving a lesson. Dance with grace and ease; 
refrain from unseemly movements, jumping, etc.; and avoid 
parading your knowledge of the art. A gentleman may 
invite a lady more than once, but should dance with all 
indiscriminately, especially at a private party or ball, and 
not manifest any particular preference. 

At private parties, cake and other refreshments should 
be handed around by those receiving the company, at 
which all may help themselves as they please. At public 
balls a gentleman may offer his partner refreshments, which 
she should refuse unless well acquainted with him. In a 
well ordered ball, supper is usually served toward the end 
of the evening, at which the ladies sit while the gentlemen 
stand and attend to their wants. In a rather informal 
soiree supper may be dispensed with; refreshments, how- 
ever, are necessary, and not to serve them would be a 
serious breach of politeness. Authorities in etiquette 
have in the past considered the waltz, and other round 
dances, scarcely proper for unmarried ladies either in public 
or private, and young married ladies could but seldom 
join in them with prudence, then only with persons of their 
acquaintance, and at private balls. However this may 
appear in the sight of modern society people, with whom 



300 de la banta's advice to ladies. 

many ideas of propriety are becoming liberalized, certain 
it is that very little restriction is imposed upon those who 
wish to engage in any dance at the present time. These 
things are governed much bv habit and education, and it is 
the freedom accorded to ladies in this country that has 
engendered self-reliance and self-respect, and hence virtue 
in our people, which make us compare favorably in a moral 
sense with other nations. 

In retiring do not disturb the lady or gentleman of the 
house: during the week it will be proper to make them a 
visit. 

TABLE ETIQUETTE. 

The spirit of social etiquette in the oiden days consisted 
in the strictest regard for display and ceremony. Modern 
culture tends toward simplicity, avoiding the glitter of 
tinsel, undue parade, and appearance of form. 

\Yhen dinner is announced, the gentlemen conduct the 
ladies to the dining' room. In passing from one room to 
another, the gentleman offers his left arm. Arriving at 
the door, should it be too narrow to admit of two "passing 
abreast, the lady lets go the gentleman's arm, while he 
advances over the threshold, turning gracefully upon the 
toe of his right foot, keeping his face toward her; thus he 
is brought with his right arm next her, which she accepts, 
he swinging her through, when they proceed taking their 
places in the ordinarv manner. I am satisfied this is an 
innovation, nevertheless I think it a desirable one. Cer- 
tainly it requires less time than the usual custom of allow- 
ing the lady to advance, which, with dinner dress en traine, 
requires considerable time ere the gentleman regains her 
side. By a little practice this method may be performed 



ETIQUETTE. 301 

very elegantly, scarce necessitating a pause. It is the only 
instance in which a gentleman is permitted to pass before 
a lady in the salon. 

In descending* a stair he should allow her the side next 
the wall. The lady of the house should be led to the 
dining room by the most distinguished guest, or by the 
person in whose honor the dinner is given. She should be 
first to enter, taking her station at the head of the table, 
thus being better able to provide seats for the company, 
which devolves upon her, if ladies are present. Formerly 
she entered the dining room last. The gentleman of the 
house should always enter last. The ladies take their seats 
so soon as shown them, the gentlemen standing until all 
the ladies are seated. No more difficult task is imposed 
upon a host by society than that of faultlessly doing the 
honors of the table. The lady of the house should offer 
no apologies nor express anxiety. She should endeavor to 
place her guests at ease and make every thing agreeable. 
Conversation should be general and of a buoyant nature. 
Napkins and finger glasses are indispensable in refined 
society. When the party is to be on a grand scale, 
demanding considerable preparation, the table should pre- 
sent a beautiful display of dessert and flowers; the servants 
carve at side tables, and serve the food. The cloth should 
not be removed in this event. Avoid too great display of 
showy plate and crystal, unless upon a very particular 
occasion. Good taste suggests simplicity and a proper 
attention to harmony with surroundings and circumstances. 
Things should exhibit substantial worth, elegance, con- 
sistence and adaptation, giving the impression that their 
possessors are accustomed to their use, and that they are 

21 



302 



DE LA BANTA s ADVICE TO LADIES. 



not out of place. When receiving company, therefore, 
aim to make your guests feel that they are on a level with 
yourself; let all be tasteful but not ostentatious, as if to 
exhibit your wealth rather than your hospitalitv. 

If guests come uninvited, entertain them as best you can 
without apology or comment. The most genuine social 
pleasures and hospitality are found at those less formal 
entertainments of people of moderate fortune, who seldom 
give grand parties. If you would not appear penurious, 
avoid giving insufficient light at meals when company is 
present by turning off part of the burners; also of lighting 
the dining room fires just previous to announcing dinner, 
or allowing the fire to go out before guests in cold weather. 
If complimented on the choice quality of wines or viands, 
acknowledge the honor quietly but without affectation. 

On formal occasions the ladies usually retire from the 
table a short time after having partaken of dessert. Some 
tact is necessary on the part of the lady of the house in 
choosing the proper moment to withdraw. She should, at 
some pause likely to occur, if possible, attract the atten- 
tion of one or more of the ladies at the right and left of 
her, and by some delicate inclination of the head or eyes 
signal them, at the same time rising slowly. The ladies 
follow her. All the gentlemen rise from their seats and 
do not resume them until the last lady has disappeared. 
Coffee should be served in the drawing room a couple of 
hours after the ladies leave the table. There are always 
a few gentlemen who prefer to remain at the table, but 
most of them join the ladies at this time or before. Usually 
at small parties the ladies and gentlemen leave the table 
together, and coffee is served earlier. There are a number 






ETIQUETTE. 303 

of rules that apply to all occasions where meals are served 
that require to be observed. More ceremony is of course 
observed at party dinners, certain acts being permissible 
at the family table that would be deemed very inelegant in 
company. At a party dinner one should not take fish or 
soup more than once, while at the family table this rule is 
not enforced. Avoid eating too heartily of any one course, 
lest there be a number that you are unable to touch. It is 
proper to regard the cravings of appetite toward the last 
of the courses served and with the dessert. The plate of 
a guest should not be loaded, and in serving sauces, place 
them on the plate and not over the meat or vegetables. 
It may be well to recommend but do not press any particu- 
lar dish, nor urge persons to eat more than they desire. 
Never send your own plate away until all your guests have 
done so. So soon as you are served with food, do not wait 
until others are served. This by some is deemed polite 
and a mark of respect, but it has long been obsolete with 
people of ton, at least if you do not eat take your knife 
and fork and arrange the table service about you, and pre- 
pare your food, by which time a number will have been 
served. 

The choice cuts and delicacies in carving, those who 
carve will remember, are the thin or fat of salmon, the 
sounds of codfish, the thick and fins of turbot, the fat of 
venison, lamb and veal kidney, the ribs and neck of a pig, 
the pope's eye of a leg of mutton, the legs and back of a 
hare (the ears are also a delicacy), the breast and wings of 
a fowl, the thighs and breast (without the drum - sticks) of 
turkey and goose, the legs and breast of ducks. With 
game generally the breast and legs are highly prized. The 



304 DE LA BANTa's ADVICE TO JLADIES. 

back is relished by many. It is most desirable to serve 
fish in handsome slices. Salmon and short grained fish 
should be cut lengthwise and not across, though slices 
are preferable. In carving poultry for a large party it is 
better to cut slices from side to side than to leave much on 
the wings. The breast and wings of a partridge are prime 
parts, the tips of the latter being considered rare delica- 
cies. If the birds are not previously divided when com- 
posing a pigeon pie, take them on a plate separately and 
cut them properly. The best manner of cutting a ham so 
that lean and fat may be helped evenly, is to commence at 
a hole in the middle of the thickest portion and cut from 
around it thin circular slices. This also tends to preserve 
the flavor and moisture. See that the bread be cut in cube 
form and not in slices. Let the pieces be about an inch 
and a half thick. As sauces are usually eaten on fish, it is 
customary to use a piece of bread in place of the knife to 
divide the fish and aid in placing it upon the fork. Knives, 
unless plated, are liable to corrode by the action of the 
sauce and spoil the flavor of the fish. Place the bread 
upon the fish to hold it, and separate the latter into frag- 
ments with the fork. 

Perhaps there is nothing that determines the refinement 
and associations of a person so much as manners at the 
table — especially the use of the knife, fork and spoon. 
Since the decided improvements in forks, wherein the ele- 
gant four -pronged silver forks supplant the old iron two- 
tined affairs, which are now no longer found save in the 
most humble abodes, to feed oneself with the knife has 
been a flagrant violation of etiquette. Be it understood 
that knives were made to cut food and assist in preparing 




NOT FORGOTTEN (High Bodice). 

304 



ETIQUETTE. 305 

* 

it, and to convey food with it to the mouth betrays the 
sublimest ignorance of the first principles of proper train- 
ing. A millionaire may be respected in a financial sense, 
but if he eats with his knife, he will be despised inwardly, 
while the best and most erudite individual, save by the few 
who prize character and solidity above mere outward show, 
will be stigmatized by the elite as unrefined. This is no 
exaggeration; however absurd, it has almost become the 
outward sign of a person's exact moral, mental, social and 
political worth. I care not what the boasted blood or 
aristocracy, this one apparently trifling matter of putting 
the knife in the mouth cries out to the beholder, parvenu. 
It is, withal, a vulgar and uncleanly habit, and should be 
avoided by all. Such is the opinion which has prevailed in 
the past. As in every thing else, however, etiquette 
changes, and at this writing I have before me an article 
from a French journal questioning the impropriety of eat- 
ing with the knife, claiming it as the most graceful and 
natural, and with no objectionable features since the mod- 
ern knife is plated and the liability to corrode overcome. 
This departure is attracting attention also in American 
society, and it may be but a question of time when to eat 
with the knife shall be a marked evidence of good breed- 
ing. A marked display of vulgarism is drinking tea or 
coffee from the saucer, and gazing about over the edge 
of the cup or glass when drinking. One should avoid 
hitting the cup with the spoon when stirring or cooling the 
contents. 

It is sometimes a nice matter to know just what food 
should be eaten with the fork and what with the spoon. 
All side dishes, so nearly as possible, should be eaten with 



306 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

the fork, save perhaps peas, curry, tarts, puddings, ices, 
custards, and similar dishes. In eating with the spoon, 
invariably sip or take the food from the side instead 
of the end. There is no excuse for violating this most 
proper custom. In helping one at the table it is improper 
to use the knife or fork when a spoon can be conveniently 
substituted. Do not mix the food on the plate, but keep 
the meats and vegetables separate, using the plate rather 
to properly cut and season the viands as desired. Never 
mash vegetables, but cut them and keep the plate clean, 
the stomach is designed to perform the duty of mixing, and 
the teeth of mashing or masticating. 

In eating, chew with the lips closed, and in supping, 
eating or drinking, make as little noise as possible. Do 
not drink your tea or coffee without first removing the 
spoon from the cup to the saucer. The waiter should be 
instructed to hand the cup to the left side that it may be 
received with the right hand. Do not spill or drop any- 
thing upon the table cloth. Place the napkin before the 
mouth when it becomes necessary to remove anything 
objectionable. If requested to pass a dish, hand but do 
not shove it. In passing your plate to be rehelped, retain 
the knife and fork. Always break bread into small pieces, 
and spread the same by resting it on the plate. Cake, also, 
should be eaten in small pieces broken at the plate. Pie 
may, if it is desired, be cut with the knife, but should be 
invariably conveyed to the mouth with the fork. Consid- 
erable embarrassment is sometimes felt when one is uncer- 
tain as to the proper manner of getting the meat from the 
bones of fowls and game, also of eating corn from the cob. 
Bear in mind that it is perfectly correct to take a bone in 



ETIQUETTE. -)07 

the fingers and to "pick" it with the teeth, after as much 
as possible has been cut from it. When eating green corn 
do not cut or shave it upon the plate, but break the ear; 
holding a part to the mouth with one hand only, eat it off 
the cob as desired. If you would avoid the appearance of 
greed and the evil consequences to health, do not eat too 
fast. If anything unpleasant be found in the food, put it 
aside quietly as possible, without attracting the attention 
of others. Never put your knife into the butter. At any 
well regulated table a butter - knife is a positive necessity. 
If possible, avoid coughing or sneezing, but if either be 
unavoidable, turn the head. If inclined to sneeze, you have 
but to press the finger resolutely against the upper lip, and 
the desire, will pass off. A disagreeable habit with some is 
talking with the mouth full. It does not conform to good 
manners. Scratching oneself at the table, and leaning the 
elbows upon the latter, are not permissible in good society. 
Keep the napkin in the lap and upon the table. It displays 
a want of tenu to not unfold it or to use more than half 
unfolded. The table should be neatly brushed before the 
dessert is served. Every one should be thoughtful and 
attentive to the wants of others. Mirth and conversation 
on interesting subjects not unmixed with harmless repartee 
and moderate hilarity may be pleasantly interspersed 
through the meal. Vulgarism and coarse jokes, or severe, 
cutting remarks, especially personal allusions or flings, 
should be scrupulously avoided. It is desirable that each 
talk freely and contribute the best efforts to be agreeable, 
but if a lion chance to be a guest, it is expected of other 
guests to honor him by listening to his remarks. The lion 
also should regard others, and not monopolize the conver- 



308 DE LA BAXTa's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

sation entirely. Pleasant conversation at meals prevents 
too rapid eating, and hence overcrowding the stomach. It 
is in bad taste to thrust upon the party religious or other 
topics that might be displeasing. The action of laughing 
of itself, it is said, aids digestion. The time occupied in 
eating should be from half an hour to an hour on all occa- 
sions. Formal dinners may consume two hours or more. 
Leave your plate with the knife and fork lying parallel, 
the handles pointing right. Leave the spoon in the cup, 
and crush the shells of eggs you have eaten. When re - 
helped to tea or coffee, retain the spoon. One should not 
leave the table before others without first requesting of 
the lady or gentleman who presides to be excused. 

BREAKFAST AXD LUXCHEOX. 

The genuine breakfast, as distinguished from the dejeuner 
a la fourchette, is the least ceremonious of meals. The 
rules that govern cultured people on all occasions at table 
must of course be observed. Yet, by common consent, the 
usual table formalities are dispensed with. We are not 
expected to observe the same punctuality as at dinner, a 
larofe discretion being; left to every one in regard to the 
time of sitting down to breakfast. In well regulated 
households, however, it may be desirable to require of the 
members of the family strict attendance, in order to incul- 
cate order and punctuality. Meeting in the drawing room 
and simultaneously proceeding to the table is no longer 
expected. Distinctions of rank or years are not recognized. 
The laughing child may take precedence of the gravest 
dignitary. Each one may be allowed to drop in when and 
how he may, or breakfast may be served in rooms as at an 



ETIQUETTE. 309 

inn. The simplest costume is regarded as most becoming 
at breakfast. The lady of the house may appear in white 
cap and morning dress. The master of the house may 
present himself dressed in any costume he pleases, unless 
it be in morning wrapper and slippers, which savor too 
much of the sick room. The breakfast table should be 
very simply dressed, in accordance with the unceremonious 
repast. Damask cloth and napkins, service of white china, 
the glistening urns, the crisp toast, iced butter, smoking 
cakes, and other accessories to the matutinal meal have 
a homely freshness well calculated of themselves to en- 
courage the appetite. Flowers should adorn the table, 
and also fruits in their respective seasons. The matron 
should take her place at the head or the side of the table 
with the tray and various vessels for serving beverages, 
etc., beside her. 

The bulky old - fashioned affairs that used to adorn the 
breakfast table of the past, have given way to the neat 
bronze or silver tea - kettle that sets off to advantage the 
bright face of the lady behind it, instead of hiding it. 
This is placed beside the tray, and may, indeed should, be 
kept boiling by the aid of a small alcohol lamp. Hot 
water for tempering the tea and coffee, and to rinse the 
cups, should always be at hand, also the .slop bowl. Fas- 
tidious persons are often particular about these little mat- 
ters. Strict observers of table etiquette never exceed two 
cups of tea or coffee. We see no objection to more, how- 
ever. Dr. Johnson frequently took a score or more at a 
sitting, but then the honored doctor also thrust his fingers 
into the sugar bowl, which feat would scarcely be more 
complacently tolerated now than when Mrs. Thrale ordered 



310 



DE LA BAXTA's ADVICE TO LADIES. 



the bowl removed from the table after the insertion of his 
inky fingers; and we question further the propriety of 
allowing such boorishness as that displayed by him the 
charitable name of eccentricity, for he hurled one of the 
good lady's best china cups into the fire, remarking that 
if a vessel was contaminated by the touch of his fingers, 
one touched by his lips was equally so. We are grateful 
for the civilizing influences that are now rendering such 
eccentricities less possible. It seems to be recognized as 
an indication — the origin of which is not known — that 
when the drinkers leave their spoons in the cups, they have 
had enough, and that they desire more when they are left 
in the saucers. However, every body is not aware of 
this, therefore it is not wise to rely too much upon these 



Properly, bread should be broken, not cut. Queen Vic- 
toria, it is said, digressed, and set the fashion of placing a 
whole loaf on the table, with a knife beside it. Milk, 
coarse breads, oat meal, etc., should largely constitute this 
meal, both for children and adults. Fruits should be par- 
taken of. Eggs are more suitable in the early than the 
after part of the day. Whatever the force of servants 
they should be dispensed with. A single, unobtrusive 
maid or retiring butler who is well trained, may be in 
attendance. The least possible formality should charac- 
terize the service, the repast, and all present. The hours 
for breakfast should be selected to best suit the avocations 
and habits of the largest number, yet it is optional with the 
proprietor of the house, and is usually served at eight. It 
should not be served in courses. 



ETIQUETTE. 311 

LUNCHEON. 

The Frenchman's dejeuner a la fourchette, or luncheon, 
of late years, has been dignified by its formal recognition 
by society as a ceremonious repast. It is less formal in the 
service than a dinner. Generally in France, though sel- 
dom in this country, it is composed of several courses. 
Whatever the repast may be, it is set before the guest at 
the same time. When but one or two partake of the meal 
a tray is served; but when there are more, the whole 
table is spread, but every thing to be eaten appears upon 
it. When the breakfast, which we will suppose and recom- 
mend to be a light one, of bread, toast, hominy or oat 
meal, with milk, tea or coffee, has been taken at eight in 
the morning, the second, or more substantial breakfast or 
luncheon should be served about twelve or one o'clock. 
The interval between two solid meals may be extended to 
a longer time. 

Ordinary lunches may be composed of the remains of the 
previous day's dinner. These, however, should not pre- 
dominate. We soon tire of the rehash, and sigh for the 
more nutritious qualities of newly cooked fresh meats and 
fish. Desserts and sweetmeats should be proportionate. 

The formal lunch is more especially the feast of fashion- 
able women, literary people, artists, etc. On these occa- 
sions chocolate and cakes are served, also tea and bouillon 
in cups are occasionally proffered to those who are intimate 
friends. The custom of entertaining with wine and other 
liquors is, I regret to observe, becoming more prevalent 
among the gentler sex on these occasions, a practice we 
should be glad to see confined to the more exclusive and 



312 DE LA BAXTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

convivial gatherings of their lords, and even there it would 
be better to dispense with it. 

The wedding or official breakfast is usually left to the 
restaurateur, who generally makes it the counterpart of a 
party supper. It is composed of ices, creams, confection- 
ery, pj^ramids, oysters, cold game, galantines, mayonnaise 
of fowl, etc. The costume to be worn at these formal or 
wedding breakfasts, as at all festivals before dinner, is the 
morning dress, the gentlemen wearing frock coats, light 
vests and pants, and the ladies their morning visiting cos- 
tumes. The lady visitor will always, if she be not very 
intimate, enter the drawing room with her bonnet on, and 
the gentleman with his hat in his hand. The guests take 
their places with the ceremony of the most formal banquet. 
The bride and groom have the precedence in the proces- 
sion to the refreshment room, the others taking their 
positions according to rank and age. 

DINNER, PARTIES. 

An old rule was that there should never be at a dinner 
party more than the muses (nine) nor less than the graces 
(three). When numbers began to increase, the superstition 
arose that to exceed a dozen would bring disaster to one 
of the number within a year. Hence the number thirteen 
has come to be considered decidedly unfortunate. A 
host can not be too careful in seeing that the number 
invited shall be any other than this. We are told that in 
Europe there are persons whose regular occupation is to 
act as fourteenth men at table. If unfortunately thirteen 
sit down together some one will usuallv be found to sub- 
tract himself from the oarty. An instance of this super- 



■:i 







-- 
' ■•_;-;;■■■■ 

-•-'.■ : .'.'-:. 



MADAME ROLAND. 

312 



ETIQUETTE. 313 

stition seeming; to have a foundation in fact is found in the 
last dinner party of the merchant prince A. T. Stewart, 
which numbered just thirteen. 

The dinner party should be composed of those belong- 
ing to different professions or occupations, that the rivalries 
and jealousies that exist in business may not obtrude them- 
selves at the social repast. Besides this, the conversation 
is likely to focus almost exclusively upon some topic relat- 
ing to their common calling. Doctors will talk of medicine, 
divines will discuss divinity, merchants will scan the pros- 
pects of trade, and lawyers will digest their legal pabulum. 
To the ladies present this would fail to be of interest. The 
best authority upon such matters, Brillat Savarin says, 
"the guests invited to a dinner should be so selected that 
their occupations shall be varied, their tastes analogous, 
and with such points of contact that there shall be no 
necessity for the odious formality of presentations." 

Invitations to a formal party should be sent a week or 
ten days in advance. The ordinary style of invitation is 
the following, written in a note or printed on a card : 

Mr. and Mrs. request the pleasure (or honor) of 

Mr. 's company to dinner at — o'clock, on 

E. S. V. P. 

A formal acceptance should read thus : 

Mr. accepts with pleasure Mrs. 's invita- 
tion to dinner, at — o'clock, on 

All written invitations should be answered in writing, 
especially invitations to dinner. If after having accepted 
the invitation, the guest is unable to comply with it, he 
must at the earliest moment possible send notice of the 



314 DE LA BAXTa's ADVICE TO LADLES. 

fact with ids regrets. Let punctuality characterize the 
attendance at dinner parties, as it should the performance 
"of every social duty. A half hour's grace was formerly 
allowed, indeed it was " the thing " not to be prompt at 
the time appointed, but now, fashion exacts that guests 
shall be as punctual in social as in business engagements. 
The ladies and gentlemen are expected to present them- 
selves in full evening costume. A considerate hostess and 
host will be exceedingly careful to keep their own dresf — 
in subordination, particularly if the occasion be not a verv 
formal one, lest they niay possibly be better dressed than 
some guest who may appear, and who would doubtless feel 
mortified at marked contrast. A fastidious host, theref: 
will see the unwisdom of adhering too rigidly to full dress, 
thus displaying a delicate consideration for some invited 
guest who may have chanced not to appear in the conven- 
tional swallow - tail and white choker de rigueur. 

Upon reaching the residence, if accompanied by a lady, 
the gentleman gives his arm in entering the drawing room, 
and they first pay their addresses to the hostess. People 
who affect the height of fashion, have a footman at the door 
to announce the names of guests as they present themselves. 
If this be dispensed with, the host or hostess may introduce 
their guests to each other. When this is waived, as it may 
be with propriety, the visitors should not hesitate to con- 
verse freely with each other as mutual acquaintances. 
"When the dinner is announced, by the servant remarking 
" the dinner is served,"" a procession is inimediatelv formed. 
Here we find a conflict of authorities upon the manner of 
entering the dining room and seating the guests, and in the 
absence of any universally accepted rule, society is still 



ETIQUETTE. 315 

lei't to adopt which ever style best suits it. I have given 
on a previous page, however, what I deem the most fitting 
for all occasions. The procession being formed under the" 
supervision of the hostess, or, if in attendance, a master 
of ceremonies, the most distinguished gentleman present 
offers his left arm to the mistress and leads the way. Arriv- 
ing at a door, she lets go his arm and halts, while he 
advances just through, turns and offers his right arm which 
she advances and accepts and he swings her through and 
they proceed, each couple as they approach the door doing 
the same thing. The hostess then takes her place at the 
head of the table, her cavalier occupying the place of 
honor at her right. This affords her an opportunity to seat 
the guests, who follow in couples, ranked according to age 
or distinction. These as they enter are so placed that the 
host, who enters last and is seated at the other extremity or 
side of the table, with his partner — usually the most dis- 
tinguished lady present — at his right, shall be sandwiched 
between two ladies, and the other guests so arranged in 
successive couples that each cavalier shall be flanked on 
either side by a lady, and each lady by a cavalier, should 
the sexual proportions admit of such a division. Should 
the dinner be given in honor of some lady present, or 
should a very distinguished lady be a guest, the host should 
escort her, leading the procession, and take his place at the 
head of the table, seating his partner at his right. In 
England the hostess frequently remains with her cavalier 
— always the most important male guest — until the last, 
and attends to the duty of pairing the guests. Husbands 
are generally separated from their wives, and other do- 
mestic relations temporarily severed. The arrangement of 
90 



316 



DE LA BANTa's ADVICE TO LADIES. 



the table, duty of the entertainer, and manner of serving, 
are not the least important features of the formal dinner. 
A widower entertaining should not seat a young lady 
opposite him lest it be a breach of courtesy to his other 
guests. A married man seated next a young lady should 
not converse too freely with her. 

The hour for dinner varies .according to the custom of 
different countries. In France, six is the usual hour; in 
England, seven, half -past seven or eight o'clock. We in 
the United States are inclined mostly to follow the French 
in such matters and seldom set the hour earlier than half- 
past five. In arranging the table, flowers should adorn the 
center, with fruit, fresh and sugared, ornamental confec- 
tionery, and galantines of fowl and game. Upon a napkin 
is placed a bill of fare, as also the name of each person 
printed or written upon a card to indicate the place each 
guest is to occupy. The napkin is placed at the right of 
the plate, and beside it a piece of bread and four glasses, 
the goblet first, then the Madeira, next the claret, and 
lastly the champagne glass. Two knives and forks are 
placed by each guest, the knives on the right and forks on 
the left. When serving the dessert, a silver knife, fork 
and spoon are placed upon the small plate, with the finger 
bowl and doily, when receiving these the guest quietly 
deposits his knife on the right and his fork and spoon on 
the left, also spreads his doily on the left and sets the bowl 
upon it. 

The diner a la Kusse, or Russian mode, is more fre- 
quently adopted on very formal occasions. In adopting 
this style, the dishes are not served until cut up, when they 
are handed in succession to each guest by the waiters. In 



ETIQUETTE. 317 

this event, the plates of soup are placed upon the 
ordinary ones before the dinner is announced. The 
napkin, bread, glasses, bill of fare, etc., as stated, in all 
cases. 

The duties of the entertainer are imperative. He must 
see that the guests are well served, and should indeed 
anticipate the wants of all. It is unpardonable to necessi- 
tate the asking of any thing by a guest. Guests should be 
invited to be re -helped, but excessive urging is in bad 
taste. Refined guests do not expect it and will not avail 
themselves of another offer, though the servants usually 
make a second round. The guests commence eating soon 
as served. Soup, fish, hors d'oeuvres, as anchovy salads, 
radishes, olives, etc., eaten during the early pauses of the 
dinner; entres of pates, croquettes, etc., on side dishes; 
roast meats, vegetables, and sweet dishes, as puddings, 
soufflets and hot confections, ending with a dessert of 
sweetmeats, ices, cheese, fruits, cakes, and lastly coffee, 
compose the ordinary French dinner. 

The free use of large napkins to protect it where most 
exposed, renders the removal of the table cloth no longer 
necessary, and the guests are spared the cheerless sight of 
walnut or mahogany and the derangement of the order of 
the service. 

Elsewhere I have described the manner of retiring from 
the dinner table, after a formal meal, that the ladies after 
the first round of the decanter rise at a silent signal from 
the hostess, and withdraw from the room, confessedly for 
the purpose of leaving the gentlemen to their strong drink, 
cigars, loose talk, and not infrequently gross intoxication, 
unrestrained by the refined influence of the gentler sex. 



318 DE LA BANTa's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

France, with her elegant customs and finer forms, has 
taught us some valuable lessons, and our social repasts 
are becoming less marked, as one author says, " by this 
coarse reminder of the divergence of the brutal instincts 
of one sex from the delicate sentiments of the other." It 
is becoming customary, both in England and the United 
States, among the more refined people, to adopt the French 
etiquette of all retiring from the dinner table together. 
This simple change makes a vast improvement in the 
direction of moral and social refinement. It is a welcome 
change that leads the society - man from the flowing bowl, 
and delivers him to his home and business sound in mind 
and health, better for having enjoyed the pleasures of 
intercourse in a reasonable manner. 

Dinner being- over, a half hour or so is usuallv consumed 
in pleasant conversation over the lighter dessert, when the 
hostess gives the signal by rising, and all retire to the 
drawing room in the order they left it. Here coffee and 
tea are served, and g-ood taste suoro-ests with as little for- 
mality as possible. The servant places the tray on the 
table, and the lady of the house pours the beverages, invit- 
ing her guests to partake. The gentlemen attend to the 
ladies first, indulging in very little ceremony. The visit to 
the drawing room renders less abrupt the departure of the 
guests, therefore they are seldom seated, but stand or walk 
about the apartment, admiring the paintings, articles of 
vertu, etc., and quietly depart after remaining in the draw- 
ing room perhaps half an hour after dinner, unless there 
is to be a supplementary evening party. 

Referring again to the evening party, I may add a few 
suggestions to those given in my remarks on soirees, etc. 



ETIQUETTE. 319 

The modern evening party is a vast remove from the hos- 
pitable entertainments given by our forefathers. 

Ceremonious displays of fashion have usurped the place 
of the social entertainments of friendship. 

The social intercourse of to-day summed up is simply 
that fashion commands and we obey; regarding her behests 
in such matters very much as we do the cut of our coat or 
the shape of our boots. Hospitality exists merely in name; 
the master of ceremonies, the confectioner, the pastry cook 
and florist are the dispensers of hospitality of the modern 
kind. 

The usual form of an invitation, engraved upon a card 
or written upon note paper, is as follows: 

Mrs. A. (or B.) requests the honor (or pleasure) of Mr. 's 

company on the evening of at half past eight o clock. 

R S. V. P. 

The hour is not frequently mentioned, and if specified 
the guest is not expected, unless very intimately acquainted, 
to go before half -past nine or ten o'clock, especially where 
there is to be dancing. An invited person however may 
attend at any hour during the night. The letters R. S. V. 
P. usually attached to the invitation mean " Answer if you 
please" — repondez, sHl vous plait. Whether an answer is 
or is not requested, one must be sent in a day or two, writ- 
ten in the same formal style as the invitation, if accepting, 
as follows: 

Mr. T. accepts with pleasure the polite invitation of Mrs. A. for 
the evening of 

If declining it should be thus expressed : 

Mr. T. regrets that he can not accept the polite invitation of Mrs. 
A. for the evening of 



I>£ La EA^TaS ADVICE TO LADIES. 

VI ben invitations are accepted they must be complied 
with faithfully if possible. An invited guest frequentlv 
takes a friend uninvited with him to a ball or evening 
party, but should in this case ask permission of the enter- 
tainer; as a refusal is hardly to be expected, he must hold 
himself responsible for the character and conduct of the 
person favored, who, previous to and after the party, should 
send his card. People disinclined or unable to dance should 
be loth to accept invitations to parties unless where dancing 
is supplementary, and card playing, conversation and other 
occupations are social features of the evening. 

Descending from the dressing room, the guest first g 
his addresses to the hostess and gives way to other comers. 
If accompanied by his wife or other lady he should wait 
for her before entering the drawing room, and giving her 
his right arm, escort her to the presence of the hostess; 
conventional decorum then suggests that he abandon her to 
the mercies of politeness and court es v. It is forbidden to 
dance with your wife unless through some oddity it becomes 
the order to fill the set with husbands and wives. 

The hostess with subdued toilette is expected to exhibit 
a total abnegation of self, devoting her sole attention to 
the enjoyment of others. She constantly anticipates the 
pleasures of strangers, even to the apparent neglect of 
friends; she treats all with equal respect and courtes . 
recognizes no distinctions of rank, birth, wealth or posi- 
tion, and acknowledges no precedence beyond the ordinary 
- actions of society. Though the service of the occasion 
may be relegated to some hired undertaker of public cere- 
monials, as one author styles the restaurateur, master of 
ceremonies, conductor of music, etc., she is watchful that 




MUSING. 

320 



ETIQUETTE. 321 

their duties are not neglected, prompts the servants, and at 
supper, of which she is last to partake, is mindful of every 
detail. The husband occupies a similar position, being par- 
ticularly devoted to the ladies, while the hostess is more 
exclusively concerned with the gentlemen. 

Every gentleman should escort a lady to supper, and 
invariably return with her to the ball or drawing room. To 
leave her is the height of impoliteness. When together 
all should, especially if dancing, devote their entire atten- 
tion to their partners, and not converse, throw side glances 
or in any way communicate with others. The host should 
be especially attentive to and dance mostly with those 
ladies who have few opportunities. A visit is expected 
from the ladies during the week by the hostess. A card, 
however, will be accepted from gentlemen whose business 
may render such calls impossible. 

DEPORTMENT IN THE DRAWING - ROOM. 

Ladies are our best teachers; hence a few suggestions of 
a general nature may prompt them to caution their 
unfledged brothers or male companions to neatness, and the 
necessity for observing good manners ; when entering 
a drawing room not to select the most easy chair, and 
when seated to sit up and not lounge or sprawl, to rise 
when introduced to any one, to lift their feet when walking 
about the room, to talk very little, indeed seldom, unless 
conversation be sought, and then in a quiet, unaffected 
manner. Do not stare about the room as if taking an 
inventory. Rise in such a manner as to appear natural and 
not stiff. Never cross the legs nor tip up the chair, nor sit 
around upon one side of it, nor put the feet upon the 



322 de la banta's advice to ladies. 

rounds. Do not expectorate upon the carpet. If accus- 
tomed to the filthy habit of chewing, eject the tobacco 
before entering the house; if smokers, carry some deodor- 
izer of the breath, and see that the clothes are not impreg- 
nated with the fumes of your cigars or pipe. Avoid such 
habits as working or snapping the fingers, stroking the 
beard or mustache, running the hands through the hair, and 
thrumming on the chair or a convenient table. Do not pick 
the teeth or clean or pare the nails in the drawing-room. 
If any one is playing upon an instrument, do not converse. 
Never whisper or converse aside with any one, nor make 
remarks about others present. Do not talk when others 
are reading. Do not read aloud in company without being 
asked. Never gaze rudely at strangers. Show a proper 
respect for seniors. Do not talk or laugh loud or boister- 
ously. Do not laugh at the mistakes or misfortunes of 
others. Indulge in no slang or vulgarisms, however popu- 
lar on the street. Never make yourself the hero of your 
own story; and avoid allusion to yourself. Never pass 
before a lady nor through a door first, nor step upon a 
lady's dress. If conversing with a lady allow her to select 
the subject. If occasion offers to correct her, beg her per- 
mission and do so politely. However familiar you may be 
about the house, never enter the drawing room in your 
shirt sleeves. When necessary to move the limbs do so 
quietly. Never read when others are present. Rise or 
sit quietlv, and with deliberate ease. Let the hands take 
care of themselves. If receiving a present, express grati- 
tude. Do not correct persons older than yourself, nor jeer 
others in company. Leave all topics of business at the 
counting room or shop; strive to be always agreeable; 



ETIQUETTE. 323 

evade all argument that is liable to lead to animated 
discussion ; show marked attention to ladies without 
partiality. Dress neatly, and do not enter with mud upon 
the boots. 

If ladies see nothing in the above for them, they should 
at least remember that they are the queens of the drawing- 
room, and that many duties belong to them that are no less 
imperative than those just given, which apply mostly to 
gentlemen. They should aim to throw oif the traditional 
mental incapacity ascribed to them, implying that they can 
not converse upon topics beyond the range of the last 
opera, the club dance, or the impossible situations of the 
heroes of novels. Show that you have imagination, that 
you have thought in leisure moments of something higher 
(if it be possible with a lady) than the shape and plume of 
your hat. If you labor under the impression that men 
dislike well informed women, you are mistaken; they, if 
men worth cultivating, dislike the insipid nonsense that 
characterizes much of the drawing room conversation of 
our modern society. It is well to possess some knowledge 
of music, the classics, dancing, and the lighter elements of 
culture, but good, solid sense, coupled with modesty and 
an unaffected display of such cultivation as comes with 
intelligent observation in all walks of life, will not be 
unappreciated by intelligent men. Do not affect traits 
that are not natural to you; I refer to a constrained dignity, 
humor, unnatural modulation of the voice, high sounding 
words and phrases, etc., eschew poetical or tragic quota- 
tions, and striking attitudes in ordinary conversation, what- 
ever your knowledge, vocation, culture or tastes; above all, 
do not appear silly, never giggle, never laugh at what you 



324 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

say yourself, or continually at what others say; speak cor- 
rectly and never gossip. Avoid all fuss and worry, and 
evident impatience. Primness of manners is any thing 
but graceful. This afflicts ladies mostly when making their 
entree into society. Stiffness is fatal to grace and lines of 
beauty. You should bend where there are joints. In bow- 
ing or courtesying it is better to suffer the body to bend 
gracefully, offering no resistance to the natural elasticity 
of the figure. There is art in sitting, and all do not learn 
it, some being no sooner seated than they manifest discom- 
fort. Others never sit but they double up into a semi - heap. 
Others still, sit as if on the " ragged edge," poising at a 
balance, ill at ease. 

To overcome defects one should observe how they act 
when alone, and above all forget self. 

Upon plain subjects, converse in a plain yet delicate 
manner, calling things by their right names. Do not speak 
of the limb of a piano when the leg of that instrument is 
referred to. Indulge in no false modesty. Ladies should 
leave gum with their school books. Those in the habit of 
chewing it should not forget that it kills the effect of every 
other grace they may cultivate. Be proud of your bearing, 
betraying a sense of your respectability and standing, and 
allow no undue familiarity, descending to coarseness, but 
do not appear haughty or conceited. Be gracious, smile on 
all, and strive withal to be lovable, which should be the aim 
of every woman. Ever regard the small change of courtesy, 
and let the head, the heart, the manner, the dress, the con- 
versation, betray the true, sensible, considerate, noble, 
cultured woman; all of which are embodied in the word 

LADY. 



ETIQUETTE. 325 

ETIQUETTE ON THE STREET. 

It is important in the street to keep a lookout ahead and 
so edge one's self through the crowd as to avoid all jostling 
by those passing. Always keeping to the right will gener- 
ally insure an open pathway. A neglect of these observ- 
ances will cause you to appear awkward and subject you to 
much annoyance. It is proper when with a lady for a 
gentleman to walk on either the right or left side. The 
dictum prescribing that the lady should always have the 
inside of the walk, is a dead letter. Upon the street we 
move on angles, and on which ever side the lady is, by 
turning to the right or left, she must come at times upon 
the outside, and to compel the changing to the other side, 
at nearly every turn is inconvenient, unnecessary and 
extremely annoying to both. When a lady and gentleman 
are together upon the street and meet a gentleman who is 
acquainted with the lady only, her escort should salute him; 
if they pass a lady whom his companion recognizes, the 
gentleman should raise his hat when she bows. When with 
a gentleman a lady should not stop to converse with friends 
she may meet; if, however, it is necessary to do so she 
need not introduce her escort unless the party joins them. 
If a lady meets two or more gentlemen, one of whom she 
is acquainted with and salutes, all should recognize her 
salute in deference to their friend. Where two parties of 
ladies meet and but one or two of each party are acquainted, 
it is not necessary that the others be introduced unless the 
parties join and proceed together. It is the lady's priv- 
ilege to first recognize a gentleman. A smile and a slight 
bend of the body at the same time constitute a graceful 



326 



DE LA BANT AS ADVICE TO LADIES. 



and affable salutation. It is always expected of a gentle- 
man that he will lift his hat to a lady. If a lady and 
gentleman stop to exchange inquiries, neither should enter 
into a conversation calculated to detain the other. It is 
the duty of the lady first to take leave. If the gentleman 
has something of importance to say he may ask permission 
to accompany her in her walk. 

Ladies should not congregate for any length of time on 
the street, should not talk or laugh loudly nor indulge in 
movements or gestures not in conformity with good taste 
and manners. A gentleman meeting a gentleman friend 
with a lady should salute but not stop to converse. If a 
lady is at the window, and perceives a gentleman acquaint- 
ance passing, she may salute him; but she is not allowed 
if on the street to salute a gentleman in the window. 
When a lady is in company with a gentleman, and it 
becomes necessary for one to precede the other through a 
dense crowd, the gentleman should advance to open the 
way; under other circumstances the lady is expected to 
precede the gentleman. Ascending steps and at crossings, 
the lady may expect assistance from her escort. If entering 
buildings, he is expected to open doors and allow her to 
advance. If ascending stairs, he should be at her side if 
possible, if not, he should take the lead. In descending the 
lady should precede him. In holding her skirts up, a lady 
should do so with the right hand. To appear upon the 
street in gaudy colors betrays bad taste. To dress elabor- 
ately and richly, but quietly, should be the aim of every 
true lady. It is not customary nor in good taste for the 
lady to take the gentleman's arm upon the street during 
the day, unless perhaps it be to and from church, or if the 



ETIQUETTE. 327 

lady be aged. If caught in a shower and a gentleman with 
an umbrella overtakes a lady or any one unprovided, he 
may without breach of politeness request her to accept its 
protection, and offer to accompany her to her destination; 
or a lady may request such protection of any one who may 
be going in the same direction should he not anticipate 
her. If necessary to ask the direction to a locality do so 
politely and respectfully, and tender thanks for the infor- 
mation, and give such information when sought of you in a 
kind, obliging manner. 

ETIQUETTE AT CHURCH AND PLACES OF AMUSEMENT. 

Were I to lay down any rule for entering the church or 
theater, I should compel the gentleman to allow the lady 
to precede him. Refined people have in all localities 
endeavored to inaugurate the practice, and many gentle- 
men who desire to exhibit true courtesy give the lady the 
lead, the usher going first, next the lady, and last the gen- 
tleman. The usher turns at the pew, the lady passes in, 
and her escort following, both come in place without either 
turning about or waiting. When shown a seat thanks are 
due the usher. It is never in good taste to attract atten- 
tion in church. So far as possible every attendant should 
regard the habits of the congregation and comply there- 
with in a general way. Above all keep awake. Keep the 
elbows or arms off the back of the pew. Never look 
around when others enter. It is in bad taste to recognize 
by bows or otherwise those whom you may know in church 
until after service. Do not converse; a whisper may, 
before service commences, be excusable, but never an 
audible tone. Laughing displays ill breeding, also gazing 



328 de la banta's advice to ladies. 

around and commenting upon those you may see. Show 
the utmost respect for divine things, and the ceremonies 
practiced in connection therewith, regardless of your 
opinion of them. Avoid coughing, sneezing, gaping or 
yawning at any meeting or place of amusement. It is 
very annoying to sneeze, yet sometimes unavoidable. By 
pressing the finger against the upper lip, the desire will 
pass off. Never go out of church during service if you 
can avoid it. It is better to remain at home than to go 
late and disturb the services. I fear the accusation is not 
groundless entirely, that a new dress or hat or cloak has 
been the cause of late arrivals, lest they should not attract 
due notice. This is reprehensible. To my young lady 
friends must I remark, do not flirt in church? The hint 
will be sufficient. It is better to dress plainly and taste- 
fully when attending church; not in the elaborate and 
flashy costume and ornaments of the opera or ball. Every 
body should make it a point to attend church; it is at once 
a civilizing, respectable and respectful custom, yielding a 
good influence and recognizing an element of our com- 
mon civilization not less effective than our common schools. 
In many respects the rules of decorum in church apply 
to places of amusement. A lady will be a lady wherever 
she is, and it is not necessary to remind her that decorous 
behavior is demanded of her everywhere. The same may 
be said of the true gentleman, especially in the presence 
of ladies. When a lady is invited to a place of amuse- 
ment, she has a right to expect that her escort will provide 
her with as convenient a seat as possible, but in case he 
neglects this or perhaps has been unable to secure a place 
as desirable as he could wish, she should refrain from 




SPANISH LADY. 

328 



ETIQUETTE. 329 

betraying any displeasure; on the contrary appear pleased 
and grateful for such attention as he bestows, so long as it 
is an open question whether it is ignorance, inability, penu- 
riousness or careless neglect. If the former two, she 
should make due allowance and should not judge severely; 
if the two latter, she need certainly not accompany him 
again, and it might not be to his disadvantage to make her 
reasons and displeasure known to him if he sought her 
again on a future occasion. Sometimes a lady -like rebuke 
goes a long way toward regulating the shortcomings of 
men. It is not in good taste for the gentleman to be 
too demonstrative at what may please him at places of 
amusement, if he accompanies a lady. If a slight clapping 
of the hands be indulged in by him as a kind of escape 
valve for an effervescing temperament, let it answer for 
both. Stamping of the feet is not permissible. 

A custom largely prevailing, but at variance with good 
breeding, is that of the gentleman leaving his lady between 
acts, ostensibly for the purpose of " stepping out to see a 
friend," which, translated, is going out to get a drink. 
The gentleman who can not curb his appetite during an 
evening performance of a few hours, is unworthy the com- 
pany of well-bred ladies, and deserves the most severe 
and cutting rebuke. It is extremely impolite to level the 
lorgnette upon persons and gaze impudently at them, 
especially if they are possibly aware of it. A general 
survey may be taken with propriety, but it should not focus 
for any length of time on a single party. The gentleman 
should avoid putting his arm over the back of his lady's 
chair, and both should refrain from too evident affection for 
each other, or any thing that would attract notice. They 



330 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

should not converse while the play, lecture, or singing is 
in progress. 

Well-bred people will refrain from eating bon bons at a 
place of public amusement. If it be desired to present a 
performer with a bouquet, it should be sent up by an 
usher, without ostentatious display on the part of the 
sender. It is the proper thing for the gentleman to invite 
the lady to refreshments at some public restaurant, which 
she may with propriety accept, but this may with equal 
propriety not be suggested or accepted. If a gentleman 
desires to be exceedingly nice and lavish in his attentions, 
he should secure a carriage to and from the theater, and he 
may, having formerly learned her glove size, with propriety 
send or bring her a pair of gloves for the occasion. In 
this event he should by all means take her to supper after 
the performance. 

MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 

The clergyman who performs the marriage ceremony is 
usually selected by the bride. There are generally two 
bridesmaids, and an equal number of groomsmen, but the 
number may be increased. The popular hour for the 
ceremony is 12 o'clock in the day, at the church. The 
bride enters first, leaning upon the arm of her father, uncle 
or whoever may "give her away." The bridegroom, with 
the mother or nearest matronly female relative, follows. 
Then come the bridesmaids upon the arms of the grooms- 
men. The immediate relatives complete the procession to 
the altar. Here the bride and bridegroom take their 
places in advance, with the parents a little behind, while 
the others are grouped around them, the bridesmaids and 
groomsmen in equal numbers placing themselves upon 



ETIQUETTE. 331 

either side. The bridegroom does not forget to have the 
wedding ring in readiness at the proper moment when 
called upon to put it on. This he places on the third finger 
of the left hand. Unquestionable authority gravely informs 
us that the bridegroom shall not kiss the bride. It is never 
done by people of the best society. The bridegroom 
should make his bride aware of this that she may not 
expect it. The bride is congratulated by all her friends in 
the church, and elderly relatives will kiss her. In con- 
gratulating, gentlemen simply salute the bride with a bow. 
If for a long time it was an unsettled question whether the 
bridegroom should kiss the bride, it was settled beyond 
doubt when it was announced that " The Queen was kissed 
by the Duke of Sussex, but not by Prince Albert." The 
married pair, taking precedence of all, then return to the 
bride's house together, and, on arrival, stand at one end of 
the reception room, and await the coming of invited guests, 
who, as they enter, are conducted by the groomsmen to offer 
their congratulations. The conventional wedding break- 
fast ends the ceremony. 

The dress of the bridegroom is regulated by that of the 
bride. If she wears a white veil he should wear black 
trowsers, black or blue coat and white vest and cravat. 
Should the bride wear a bonnet, the bridegroom should 
array himself in frock coat of black, brown, or other taste- 
ful color, with light colored vest and trowsers. If a military 
or naval person, he should appear in uniform. The custom 
has long been to depart on the day of the marriage for a 
tour, and remain absent a week or longer. Upon returning 
they expect calls from all to whom cards have been sent, 
and the usual evening parties and dinners, which end the 



332 de la banta's advice to ladies. 

second event of their lives, when they are the hero and 
heroine, and then they settle down to the routine of life's 
commonplaces. The very sensible custom of having the 
future home selected, and of repairing thither at once after 
the reception, thus abandoning the conventional tour, is 
finding favor with many in the first circles. It is a wise 
one upon the whole, and economical withal. Such a tour 
at a time when the purse of the husband has suffered 
largely, and the bride needs rest after the continual strain 
upon her nervous system during the preparations and final 
event, and when both are more engrossed with each other 
than they can possibly be with sight seeing and the inci- 
dents of travel, to say nothing of its turmoil, can only 
afford pleasure because obeying the fashion. 

It is contrary to custom to invite guests to the marriage 
of a widow. If a widower marries a young lady, the eti- 
quette is the same as that of a first marriage. A widow must 
marry in the morning early, without show, and has present 
only her witnesses and those of her intended. Her dress 
must be plain, of quiet color; black, however, is not admis- 
sible. On leaving church, the bride invites to breakfast 
the witnesses who have formed the party, but no other 
guests are invited to his repast. On the fifteenth day after 
the marriage, cards are sent bearing the new address of the 
married pair. A widow never makes wedding calls after 
remarrying. Those who receive the cards do the visiting. 
There is a month allowed for the return of cards, and the 
visits. When a single lady marries, after having passed 
the usual age for marriage, the ceremony should be simple 
and unobtrusive. 

The question has been asked, may a bride dance at her 



ETIQUETTE. 333 

wedding? 1 think the bride can generally be so occupied 
in receiving congratulations that the guests will find time 
to do all the dancing. 

FUNERAL CEREMONY. 

The more advanced the enlightenment, the more simple 
and intelligent the order of doing things. Reasonable 
ceremony, therefore, is not unnecessary as a means of dis- 
tinguishing between civilized and chaotic and untutored 
methods. If it presides at the altar, it does not desert the 
body when unconscious in death; hence, until beneath the 
dust, we are subject to the punctilious observance of cere- 
mony. 

The relatives, instead of being compelled to attend to 
the formal minutiae of funerals, are relieved generally of 
the sad details and civilities by the convenient undertaker. 
This functionary takes charge of the funeral arrangements 
and its attendant ceremonies. The improved taste of 
Americans in all matters of display has reversed the order 
of funeral rites, and a somber simplicity, quiet, and more 
in harmony with the feelings of those most interested 
(unless it be that class who would make even the court of 
death an occasion of ostentatious exhibition) characterizes 
the honors accorded the dead, abolishing the emblazon- 
ment of the forbidding emblems of death, the skull and 
cross-bones, upon the hearse, the hired mutes, and those 
elegancies of sorrow marking the melancholy splendor of 
English funerals. We, nevertheless, take pride in lavish 
bestowals from the lap of wealth, when possible, but our 
remembrances shape and entwine themselves in sweet 
flowers, in which we, j>erhaps, are as liable to excess and 



334 DE la baxta's advice to LADIES. 

exult as heartily in the extremes of profusion and design; 
hence a too often immoderate exhibition of crosses, anchors, 
crowns, hearts, wreaths, stars, etc., which seem to betray a 
more decided regard for effect with the living than regrets 
over the departed. 

To pall - bearers notes are sent inviting them to serve as 
such. Notices of death and invitations to the funeral are 
given through the newspapers. 

"While in England ladies never attend the remains to the 
grave, in this country it is the custom for the entire family 
to act as chief mourners, and for all who desire to follow 
the procession. It is becoming the custom with us. as in 
England, to send to relatives and friends cards with deep 
edges of black upon which is engraved the name of the 
deceased, with age, place and date of death. These are 
acknowledged at once by letters of condolence, and visits 
of ceremony after the proper time. 

In accordance with usual observances, ladies, whatever 
their religious promptings or the state of the emotions, 
refrain from attending church before and for some little 
time after the funeral. Cards, note-paper and envelopes, 
edo-ed with black, are emploved during; the time of mourn- 
ing. 

The following concerning mourning is from professed 
authority. For a husband or wife, mourning should be 
worn from one to two years, though some widows retain 
their weeds for life. For parent or grand-parent, from six 
months to a year. For children about ten years of age, the 
same. For those below that age, from three to six months. 
For an infant, six or seven weeks. For brothers, six or eight 
months. For uncles or aunts, three to six months. For 



ETIQUETTE. 335 

cousins, uncles or aunts by marriage, from six weeks to 
three months. For more distant relatives or friends, from 
three weeks to as many months, according- to the degree of 
intimacy. The servants are ordinarily put in mourning by 
those who can afford it, for the death of an important 
member of the family. The nurse only in case of the death 
of young children. 



The Aet oe Pleasing. 



The world sets large store by the exterior of people. It 
can not always stop to examine into their morals, education 
or positive merit; and, whatever may be the standard of 
appreciation, there are very few who can say they do not 
court the world's good graces. The question then presents 
itself, if we are slaves to a mistress whose smile or frown 
is our weal or woe, what shall be our guide to insure her 
continued good graces? We turn to virtue and see there 
inscribed, u virtue is its reward;" in the direction of edu- 
cation is emblazoned, M knowledge is power; " where wealth 
is we discover, "the accumulation of wealth is the basis of 
civilization," and still we find not the key to the world's 
favor. With the wisdom of Solomon, the virtue of Caesar's 
wife, the piety of Fenelon, the wealth of a Rothschild, with- 
out a knowledge of how to please, we have no fixed place 
in the popular heart. How to please, then, embodies much. 
It can not be brought within the scope of etiquette, nor is 
it in any event independent of it. We can not ignore 
regulations imposed by polite society and still expect to 
please, for polite society rules the world. But usages may 
be learned as a parrot may learn its prayers: there are still 
numerous requisites that belong rather to an innate some- 
thing: existinsr in various decrees in different individuals, 

336 




LADY MORGAN. 

336 



THE AKT OF PLEASING. 337 

and it is this which is the basis of our conduct, which arov- 
eras our motives and gives shade to our feelings, and which, 
like an atmosphere, goes out from us to attract or repel. 
It is here we iirst seek for the true lady or gentleman; 
where we find such, amenity of manners, courtesy and 
decorum almost seem second nature. In the absence of 
this quality, the ritual of politeness becomes an empty 
sham. 

First, then, we must question ourselves concerning our 
natural instincts; are they coarse, selfish, overbearing, un- 
forgiving, dishonest; have we bad tempers; are we suspi- 
cious and fault - finding ; are we inclined to make ourselves 
miserable as well as those we meet? It should be our first 
effort to subdue such qualities, for any exhibition of them 
is fatal to harmony. Addressing myself to ladies, I must 
say, these evils of human nature are above all, unpardon- 
able in you. 

Almost the first requisite to a lady is good common 
sense. While this admits of piquancy, naivete, and all the 
charming femininities, as well as dignity, it is also a host 
arrayed in your favor. Affability, a sweet temper under 
all circumstances, a manner mild, yet firm, a sensitive and 
delicate temperament, yet without too evident self- con- 
sciousness and prudishness of disposition, are admirable 
qualities. You can not please without being truly polite, 
and to this end amiability and good nature are necessary. 
True politeness comes from a knowledge of ourselves and 
respect for others, and constitutes propriety of deportment 
coupled with good nature and a desire to please. Neither 
rank, beauty, wealth, talents nor position can dispense 
with it. It enters into every feature of social intercourse, 



338 de la banta's advice to ladies. 

and it is here you are measured, weighed and stamped. 
It is here that your true culture will assert itself. To 
avoid this, you must not have two sets of manners, one for 
home and another for society. The same deference to 
others, the same graces of deportment and geniality, must 
at all times characterize you. You can not eat with your 
knife, or indulge in slang or bad grammar at home without 
the fact betraying you when you will regret it sorely. 
Constant study of the usages and rules of good society, 
reflecting upon and practicing them, and frequenting good 
company, are absolutely requisite. Very likely what is 
pleasing to you in others will please them in you; if the 
attention and complaisance of others to your tastes, caprices 
and weaknesses please you, you may expect others will be 
pleased with the same attention from you. To undertake 
to reduce to a set of arbitrary rules the art of pleasing 
would result in ridiculous failure. Good sense, good 
nature, and a sense of propriety, united to an acute sense 
of refinement and politeness, the observances of good 
example and the etiquette of elegant society, alone will 
insure the polish and tone characterizing refined people in 
all countries. 

GRACE. 

Grace is rarer and more desirable than what is known 
as beauty. The manner of doing things, especially of 
giving, or receiving and conferring favors, influences people 
favorably or unfavorably, quite as much as the kindness 
itself. A genial smile, a gentle tone, with little expressions 
of willingness when asked to favor, and a proper degree 
of thankfulness when the recipient, count more than set 
phrases and all attempts at glowing effect and language. 



THE ART OF PLEASING. 339 

To exhibit loss than formal grace in the matter of bestow- 
ing or receiving- kindness, is a species of coarseness outside 
the pale of culture, and is unworthy the true lady. Grace 
of motion constantly describes lines of beauty. It must 
be natural, yet toned by art — " the art which conceals art." 
Graceful action, especially the carriage, can be acquired by 
constant freedom of motion. All constraint is fatal to it. 
A sense of ease and graceful bearing in society are scarcely 
possible without continual association with refined people. 
Lord Chesterfield says: " Awkwardness can proceed but 
from two causes, either from not having kept good com- 
pany or from not having attended to it." In ladies, of all 
others, this is most unbecoming and embarrassing. During 
twenty years passed in the larger cities, closely studying 
the manners, dispositions, beauty, figure and fashions of 
women, I can recall but few of whom I can say they had a 
magnificent carriage. Often the defect is caused by chil- 
dren being dragged after grown persons, and compelled 
to half walk, half run. Do not urge children beyond their 
gait, if you would not spoil their walk. Often it arises 
from "bow" or "bandy legs," a very common yet unneces- 
sary deformity, caused by mothers allowing their children 
to attempt walking too soon. This is a disfigurement that 
can not be remedied, nor can it be entirely concealed by 
the lono-est skirts. Mothers and nurses can not be too 
careful in guarding against what must be such a source of 
regret in the after years of thpse thus deformed; and the 
pleasure derived from indulging childish precocity, and 
perhaps pardonable pride in the young hopeful, is poor 
compensation for the ungainly defect it produces. I ques- 
tion if a larger proportion of the defects in figure, in 



• 



340 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

motion, beauty and health, is not the result of ignorance 
or carelessness in mothers. From the swaddling clothes 
upward in their growth, the dress has a tendency to confine 
the action of the body. The clothes should be loose, allow- 
ing perfect freedom of the flexible limbs of children.' No 
fashion should be allowed to interfere in this matter. The 
form also should occupy the attention of mothers. Until 
the habits of children are more generally watched, and 
those checked which cause narrow, stooped and uneven 
shoulders, sunken chests, wry necks, and bent bodies, we 
can not expect to be a race healthy, favored in feature, 
strength and beauty. 

Over anxiety in mothers concerning the exercise, man- 
ners and associations of their children, often retards vigor- 
ous growth, hampers natural movements and destroys grace. 
Children should be allowed to romp and play unchecked, 
and to be as noisy as they desire. Their growing limbs 
and muscles reach better development through such free- 
dom, as do the lungs and voice. If they delight in mud 
pies, or the association of children whose misfortune it is 
to be poor, the contact with the one may soil, but it con- 
duces to health, and with the other, if respectable, it will 
not corrupt them, but will engender respect for those less 
fortunate than themselves. Let the children climb, leap, 
romp, run, sleep, eat, and make the very echoes jingle; it 
is but an instinctive effort at development, and you confer 
a boon upon them of inestimable value. We find that due 
regard for freedom of action in children promotes health, 
symmetry and grace in adults. While truer grace may 
adorn the average sized person, deviations in either direc- 
tion are seldom wholly without it. If the general notion 



THE ART OF PLEASING. 341 

of beauty be not in accord with their figure, they should 
submit gracefully to the inevitable, consoling themselves 
with the fact that they are not wholly without attractions, 
and that the ugliest men that ever lived, Mirabeau, Burr 
and Wilkes, knew so well how to please, that their equals 
have hardly been found in winning the favor of the most 
beautiful women. The shrunken figure and lameness of 
Talleyrand, the obesity of Fox, and the shortness of Chester- 
field, did not prevent them from being brilliant examples 
of elegant manners, courtesy and grace. Of women, too, 
history affords numerous instances where those in whom 
the absence of physical attractions was conspicuous have 
won everybody to them by beauty of disposition, modest 
and graceful demeanor, and exquisite gentleness, which 
seemed to render even their infirmities a charm. 

No one but a cruel, discourteous person will ever refer 
to the natural infirmities of others, and persons should not 
allude to their own misfortunes, lest, while pretending to 
be indifferent, they prove the contrary. Art is rapidly 
coming to the rescue of those not absolutely deformed, 
developing where nature has denied fullness, lending sym- 
metry, and in cases of extremes in stature, by the harmoniz- 
ing of drapery, styles of coiffure, and other devices to 
which nearly every lady resorts in her attempts to please; 
yet I am free to say while in many it is proper, even a duty, 
to avail themselves of those things that conduce to an agree- 
able ensemble, so long as they do no injury, too many, 
from over desire and mistaken notions, exhibit great lack 
of wisdom in interfering with nature where she has shown 
even extra favors. I refer to the indiscreet use of paints on 
the skin, and the injurious and unnecessary practice of 



342 DE LA BANTA8 ADVICE TO LADIES. 

tight lacing. All know the effects these are liable to pro- 
duce, still, disregarding the fair, fresh skin, classical mold, 
and every law of proportion, they persist in obeying the 
mandates of a cruel, arbitrary and unjustifiable fashion, 
which can not but prove fatal to both beauty and health. 
What must our wasp - waisted belie who is " doing Europe " 
think, when admiring the Venus de Milo in the Louvre 
and contrasting the statue's waist, the measurement of 
which is thirty - two inches in circumference, with her 
own, which, though she be in every other respect larger, 
does not exceed perhaps twenty -two or twenty -six inches. 
This is as thoroughly a false idea of beauty as that which 
cramps the foot, contorting it beyond all semblance of 
shapeliness by shoes several sizes too small. The foot of 
the Venus alluded to measured eleven inches. Compare 
that, ye fair damsels, with your own, which, with shoe 
included, does not measure nine ! 

Ladies, perhaps I ought, just here, speak a word for your 
ears only. You aim to please men, do you not? Then 
remember that their admiration — condemn it if you will — 
is not wholly unbiased by a sense of the voluptuous, and 
they can no more associate a figure cut half in two, con- 
strained, as if wound and waxed — evidently mere wire and 
pads — with vigorous flesh and blood, plump and rosy, than 
they find the ideals of their hearts in the cambric -clad 
" forms " for the display of drapery at our dry goods 
houses. If you persist in this course you can not possess 
certain graces of figure and motion most admired by all, 
and therefore in direct ratio fail to attract those whom it is 
both your desire and interest to please. In aiming to please, 
it is not always without a purpose, beyond being considered 



THE Alii' |>F PLEADING. 343 

charming in social circles; young ladies especially have 
husbands and homes to win, and very frequently it occurs 
that the purse of papa is not plethoric, to serve as a bait. 
Most ladies have but themselves to offer, and a few words 
to these may lend additional assurance. 

It is said that true love never existed between two alike 
in texture and temperament; i. e., a man with light hair, 
eyes, and complexion, tall, spare and angular, of even dis- 
position, etc., could not love or tolerate a woman of like 
characteristics. A wise decree has ordained that our incli- 
nations shall tend toward our opposite?. Both ladies and 
gentlemen may often through impulse and conspiring cir- 
cumstances be led to . think they love those of similar 
temperaments to their own, but where such couples have 
married, unless both were of quiet, passive natures, the 
union has not proved happy. On the contrary, let two 
opposite natures and temperaments meet, and a different 
spirit will pervade their dreams, they will inevitably gravi- 
tate toward each other. There will seem to exist a tie 
holding them together; they can not bear to be apart; 
each will strive to please and win the other, and, if they 
must fly to Gretna Green, they will belong to each other, 
whether it is to be love in a cottage or mansion. Young 
people can not study too earnestly the temperaments of 
those who are possibly to be associated with them through 
life. Cupid is blind, remember, and if the blind lead the 
blind, recollect the inevitable ditch. Davy Crockett said, 
" Be sure you're right, then go ahead." A lady inclined 
to embonpoint, unless she lose her shape, need not be un- 
easy, for she will meet those who would not have her 
otherwise, and they will be the very ones whom she 

24 



344 DK la hanta's advice to ladies. 

instinctively most wishes to please; and the same with the 
petite lady or the tall, angular one. True, a slight plump- 
ness is more generally desired in the female form, in fact 
it is essential to beauty with us. 

In our country we are too active; life is too much a 
struggle, too earnest; wealth tempts us with a bait too 
luring, and thus ever reaching and hoping, we work and 
die, and others follow in our steps ; consequently we 
become a distinctive type, cast in a mold peculiar to the 
conditions characterizing the western hemisphere. The 
same inclinations toward a purely sensuous existence, lead- 
ing our women to luxurious and wanton lives, would 
predispose to the same results in this country as in the 
East, did the same conditions prevail here. 

MANNERS. 

The study of manners, how to appear naturally graceful, 
at ease and charming in society should occupy all. We 
often hear people speak of having "company manners." 
The true lady or gentleman will be the same at home as in 
society. It is impossible for really polite people to lay off 
their civility with the party dress or coat. Whatever their 
vocations or daily associations, the little courtesies and the 
true dignity of the person will be ever present and felt by 
all. To appear too frivolous detracts from true dignity, 
always essential to win and retain respect. Dignity is 
commendable, and differs from pride, which, if unreasona- 
ble, becomes detestable. Abject flattery, repeated concil- 
iatory overtures and indiscriminate assentation, belong to 
the ignorant, and disgust perhaps more than contradictions 
or unguarded dispute. Equally bad is the habit of some 




MEDIEVAL LOVERS, (Costume of the Mtddle Ages). 

344 



THE ART OF PLEASING. 345 

young ladies of wearing a constant smirk upon the face, 
with an occasional giggle, interspersed with a frequent 
monosyllabic "yes," or " no." Show a proper respect for 
the opinions of others, and be firm, yet modest, in the 
assertion of your own. Always display that self- con- 
sciousness which one should feel, that you are as good as 
others, and demand equal respect. If you do not respect 
yourself, others will not respect you. Very many are 
afflicted with over -sensitiveness, a feeling of inferiority, 
which is liable, if not overcome, to render one ridiculous 
at times. More offensive are they who seek to convey the 
impression that they "know it all." This betrays ignor- 
ance, conceit and immodesty. Never exhibit vulgarity in 
action or expression. Rude conduct, awkward motions and 
positions, indicate either a Jack of respect for others, or 
that your associations are low. Exercise a due regard for 
all little courtesies arid elegancies. In your associations 
with the opposite sex, let these never be neglected. Do 
not hurry. Promptness and due haste are proper, but 
hurry and bluster tend to confusion and irritation, and 
things thus done were better not attempted. Remember, 
your manners are the sign by which your status is fixed; 
they are ever open to criticism, and always determine your 
caste. You should take care that the first impressions be 
favorable. In the drawing room, at table, at the party or 
ball, on the street, every where, you should be impressed 
with the fact that you are to be respected as a lady or gen- 
tleman, and that as such you respect others, and treat them 
accordingly. 

Minor details of manner, the tone of the voice, the utter- 
ance and choice of language, all have their effect upon 



346 I)E la banta's advice to ladies. 

others, favorable or otherwise. Let the first be marked 
and mild, the second modulated, in the third studiously 
avoid the common abbreviations as " ain't," or " wasn't," or 
u goin'," and the malformation of sentences as, "I don't 
never fear," or "I shan't do nothing," and similar errors 
that come often from carelessness rather than ignorance. 
The way a lady sits, the manner of arranging her drapery 
or handling her train, her manner of holding her knife and 
fork at table, how she sips her coffee from the spoon, and 
holds the cup or goblet to her lips, all are inspected closely. 
Remember the cup now- a -days is provided with a handle; 
this should be grasped with the thumb and index finger, 
the latter thrust just through against the thumb, and the 
other fingers open and held out away from the cup, save 
the second, which should press against the side to steady 
it. This gives a graceful appearance to the hand. In 
holding a goblet, it should be grasped by the thumb and 
the two first fingers around the smallest portion of the 
standard, between the bowl and the bottom, the other 
fingers opened out as with the cup. Any glass or cup 
without handles should be grasped in this manner, always 
throwing the last two finders well out. It is better to hold 
the fork when conveying food to the mouth in a manner 
similar to the method of holding the spoon. It may also 
be held as is the knife. The table furnishes an ordeal of 
manners, to pass through which successfully is no trifling 
matter with any one, from the President down to the school 
miss. Some may elevate the "proboscis" at the mention 
of these things, but when they desire to be " nice," and are 
to sit with lords and ladies, they feel very much as Emer- 
son's lady, who said if there was one thing more than 



THE ART OF PLEASING. 347 

another that equaled the consolations of religion, it was 
the satisfaction of knowing she was well dressed. When 
they want to do a thin*)- and don't know how, they would 
exchange the consolations of religion for it gladly, but it is 
often too late. It is the details of a story that afford inter- 
est, so in the details of our lives centers the interest which 
makes our society pleasing to others, and it is by them we 
are judged. Then let the lady or gentleman who would 
please study the amenities of social intercourse, and prac- 
tice them. They outrank erudition, wealth or position in 
popular, even personal, esteem. There is no excuse for 
ignorance of them at the present day. 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS. 

Not to be versed in the lighter accomplishments, as 
music and dancing, with a taste for painting, or some fancy 
ornamental designing in wax or needle - work, with a smat- 
tering of the classics, perhaps, and possibly a flavor of 
poetry or literature, is a lack that each year becomes harder 
to bear by those uncultured in these respects. Beauty suf- 
fers a marked depreciation if it be not united to such 
acquirements. Music, even if the lady plays or sings only 
tolerably, affords her a better entree into society, and by its 
aid she may often win her way into a position that with 
attractions of face and figure alone she could not succeed 
in attaining. She should not, however good a performer, 
seek to parade her accomplishment ostentatiously, nor 
should she, on the contrary, require to be coaxed, to any 
extent, when asked to sing or play. Apologies are usually 
misconstrued into a desire to attract notice, and should 
therefore not be indulged in, though it were at a sacrifice 



34^ DE LA BANTA's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

of personal comfort. Ever do the best you can. Never 
"hang back" reiterating that you ''can't," or "have a 
cold," or " will not some one else favor them;" and do not 
allow yourself to exhibit any of those freaks that seem to 
constitute a kind of conventional silliness quite out of 
harmony with a sensible, dignified lady, and scarcely par- 
donable in a younsf miss. Bv all means learn to dance. 
By this I do not mean attend all the public balls or club 
dances: but at home, or in your select circles, this is a 
harmless and happy amusement. I know of nothing that 
so soon lends o^race to the motions, dignified freedom to the 
manners, and that cultivated society air unattainable by 
participation alone in other social forms. The quasi disci- 
jDline which prevails, and the movements and courtesies 
peculiar to the well regulated and varied dances, together 
with the inspiring music, seem to strike a responsive chord 
in the breast, and conspire to bring to the surface all the 
grace, poetry and lines of beauty in posing and motion 
that the human anatomy contains. To be graceful in the 
dance, therefore, is to possess one of the most popular and 
pleasing attractions. Painting, drawing, wax - work, and 
fancy needle - work, with many other more quiet arts, dis- 
play tastes and abilities beyond the ordinary, and never 
fail to lift their possessor a step higher in the heart of the 
admirer. But with these accomplishments remember the 
summing up by Bulwer Lytton of what a man wants in a 
wife, and strive to store the mind as well. He claims that 
man wants a companion, not a singing animal, nor a draw- 
ing animal, nor a dancing animal, yet these often cost 
women years of toil, and at last they may marry men who 
have no appreciation of a single one of these accomplish- 



THE ART OF PLEASING. 34!) 

ments. After forty few women can sing, few care to dance, 
therefore he would have a woman fitted for a companion 
of heart and home. A. sentiment I strongly indorse is 
this: "But let accomplishments be the setting of the mind. 
They never fall below par." 

Conversation, also, is one of the rare and necessary ac- 
complishments. The ability to talk intelligently, wittily 
and well is not possessed by all. Society to-day seems 
sadly wanting in brilliant talkers. Alas! Lady Morgan, 
who delighted all with whom she came in contact with the 
ready flow of her words, the eloquence of her diction, and 
the richness of her anecdote and repartee, has gone, and 
where is she who can claim her place? Where are they 
upon whom we allow the mantles of the eloquent talkers 
of the last century to descend? True, we have many bril- 
liant lady conversationalists, but they are by far too few. 
Every lady should cultivate this art, and attain to such 
excellence as she may. To say enough, and say it well, 
upon any subject, to modulate the tones, to be ready with 
appropriate words, wit and repartee, at the right time, 
uniting- the same with a fascinating* manner, are linguistic 
attractions which come quite as much from cultivation as 
from a natural gift. Emerson says, "Self-confidence con- 
duces more to brilliant conversation than does education." 
Mine. De Stael, to whom was attributed such wonderful 
gifts as a conversationalist, it is said, passed hours, even 
days, forming sentences and devising and conducting topics 
of conversation with herself, preparatory to some occasion 
where she should be one of the "ligvhts." At such times 
she would skillfully lead those with whom she conversed 
into the grooves she had chiseled, and, thus able to antici- 



350 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

pate the drift and points, would be handsomely prepared 
with opportune bon mots, telling witticisms, or scathing 
repartee, that would burst impromptu - like upon her asso- 
ciates when occasion offered in the theme she had so skill- 
fully woven. None can question her wonderful natural 
powers, but the methods she employed brought them into 
bolder relief and prominence. Ladies might adopt this 
plan with advantage. However, I would not counsel them 
to cultivate that illustrious woman's vanity, lest they suffer 
a defeat which not infrequently met De Stael. One instance 
I have in mind. She had evidently laid plans to entrap 
Napoleon. How well she succeeded, we shall see. At a 
company where the little Corsican was present, she inter- 
rogated him, with rather bold assurance, as to whom he 
thought the most brilliant woman in France, anticipating 
that he could with truth name only her, to which he replied: 
" She who brings forth the most children to her country is 
the greatest woman in France." 

Let me remark just here to those ladies who would 
please, be considerate of the feelings of others, especially 
gentlemen. Women are usually quicker at repartee, have 
more confidence, and not seldom avail themselves of the 
privileges of their sex to "cut" severely. Men maybe 
brave and strong, may have coarse exteriors and manners, 
and be unable to cope in conversation with you, but remem- 
ber, they have hearts, and it is no mark of a true lady to 
hurt the feelings needlessly of any one, however tempting 
the occasion to appear brilliant. Men fear those keen, 
sarcastic or witty women who incline to abuse their gifts 
at the expense of making them appear small or ridiculous. 
Napoleon ever feared the bright women of Paris, and 



THE ART OF PLEASING. 351 

sought every opportunity to defeat them, such victories 
being to him as important as any over the German legions. 
Men are peculiarly sensitive in the presence of women, 
and the more they admire, the less are they able to display 
what gifts they may possess. So I would say, be witty 
when it does not hurt, indulge in repartee and satire, if 
necessary to defend, or "cut" with honorable purpose, but 
not to satisfy vanity. 

If people do not conform in manners to your ideas, refrain 
from causing them pain by reminding them of their defi- 
ciencies. Cultivated people are very liable in this demo- 
cratic country to come in contact with those who shock 
their ideas of propriety, but it is best to let their errors 
pass without comment. It is the duty of all to instruct 
others, when doing so w r ill be appreciated, but to censure 
and condemn indiscriminately is not the better way. For- 
bearance with the faults of others is a virtue; frankness 
and courtesy toward all is evidence of refined delicacy. 

AFFECTATION. 

Affectation is too closely allied to hypocrisy to be in any 
sense attractive, and never fails of detection by the observer. 
It is natural if we admire any one of note to copy some of 
the traits which in them attract us most. If you are plain 
Ann Smith, don't attempt to imitate Olive Logan, though 
she be "the best dressed woman in the world," and has 
more nearly reduced affectation to a science than any other 
living woman. To equal her brilliancy as a correspondent 
and a lady, however, would do any woman credit. In a 
word, affect nothing that is not absolutely yours by acquire- 
ment or nature. How many ladies rob themselves of many 



352 DE la banta's advice to ladies. 

real attractions by affecting the voice, manner of speaking, 
gesture, carnage and habits of others. How many have 
forfeited the respect and esteem of friends, aye ! brought 
ruin upon themselves by affecting possessions and the 
consequent display of those more opulent. The lady who 
appears in the presence of gentlemen in any other than 
her own distinctive guise loses all claim to their respect for 
her good sense. It is commendable to imitate our superi- 
ors, in so far as we may be able to make the desired traits 
our own, but we should rather endeavor to lift our entire 
selves to their high standard than to try to assimilate 
certain of their characteristics with our palpable imper- 
fections. 

BEAUTY. 

An American lady once asked of an officer high in position 
at Constantinople, why he still adhered to the barbarous 
system of polygamy. " Because," he replied, " we have to 
seek in many women what in your more favored country 
is found in one." 

True beauty consists quite as much in the manner as in 
face and figure. Too often beauty of the latter is in effect 
destroyed by the simple fact that the possessor indicates so 
plainly that she knows she is beautiful; she then succeeds 
only in being ridiculous. Tact may enable one to display 
her charms of person and manner very effectively, even to 
an extreme fascination, by modest demeanor, wholly unsug- 
gestive of a thought that she is other than the plainest 
person. This ingenuousness renders a beautiful lady 
doubly attractive and never fails to call about her a host 
of friends. 

Cultivate beauty, if you would please, and ever let it be 




"^"erxedkj has J! » ** ^ 

NINON DE L'ENCLOS. 

352 



THE ART OF PLEASING. 353 

united to neatness of person, elegance of manners, and the 
better culture of the mind, together with honesty, virtue 
and all that tends toward the true and the good. It is 
unquestionable that lack of beauty is a real misfortune. 
Not unlike actual deformities, which seem to fall with two- 
fold weight upon women, plainness of feature must make 
the heart sick, and no doubt cuts many an otherwise fair 
life short. Cultivate beauty naturally, and where nature 
fails, resort to art. Produce the real, if possible; where 
not, then the effect. Conceal unsightly defects at all haz- 
ards. Even a husband may know of a defect, but he will 
love none the less for that if it be kept from his view, 
whereas constant exposure would often tend to weary him. 
As with the husband, so with the world. 

THE TOILET. 

Extreme care should ever be observed in the toilet. 
Elaboration is not demanded, but cleanliness and strict 
attention to the minutest details are indispensable. Ex- 
quisite taste and neatness in the arrangement of the hair 
are imperatively demanded. Frowsiness and any evidence 
of dandruff or falling hairs are especial marks of an im- 
proper toilet. The ears and neck — must I say it ? — are 
not always the recipients of that attention we could expect, 
judging from the style and dress. Ah ! what a multitude 
of slights, what shiftlessness is concealed often beneath 
the fine exterior. But more regarding that anon. 

Ladies who employ cosmetics upon the face should 
remember that the neck is quite as much exposed, and as 
much in need of color as the face; yet how few ladies will, 
though careful with the latter, extend the preparation to 



354 de la baxta's advice to ladies. 

the former, and thus they appear upon the street and in 
the drawing room with a white and pink complexion, but 
with a neck brown and still more dingy in appearance from 
the contrast. The hands also should be whitened to corre- 
spond. Let the nails be immaculate. Tolerate no offensive 
odor about your person. See to it that those parts most 
liable to perspiration are frequently bathed, as also the 
entire body. The feet and armpits are often sources of 
extreme annoyance in this respect. Aromatic baths are 
means of allaying it. 

To eat those things that taint the breath is decidedly 
vulgar, and does not display proper regard for the feelings 
of your associates. When the breath is offensive from con- 
stitutional causes, it is a misfortune scarcely second to a 
deformity. It frequently results from inattention to the 
teeth; therefore, let the care of the mouth be numbered 
among your toilet duties. 

Study harmony in colors, taste in adornment, and suit 
these to your means, style, complexion, hair, features, etc. 
If a bit of blue ribbon would become the throat better 
with your costume, do not wear a diamond brooch or load 
yourself with ornaments because you have them. It is 
always best to follow the fashion in such matters as dress- 
ing the hair and the many little things in connection with 
the toilet which, insignificant in themselves, make up an 
important aggregate. 



Deess. 



A theme of such manifest importance as dress, one which 
might profitably occupy the careful thought of a philoso- 
pher, and has so often been eloquently treated by reputable 
authors, deserves more extended consideration than the 
space at my command permits. However, a few generali- 
ties and standard rules may accomplish a purpose. 

I must not proceed to these without some prefatory 
remarks that should be well weighed by those for whom 
they are especially intended. A lady writer of some note 
said to me: "It seems as if the good women, the wives 
and mothers, do not understand the power of dress as they 
should to conserve their own happiness. There are those 
who do, but they have learned the secret by experience, 
and knowing it do not fail to make the fullest use of it to 
serve their purpose; and this, alas! furnishes an excuse to 
fickle men for seeking abroad the pleasures they should 
find at home; while noble, good, but mistaken women 
wonder that men dear to them are not attracted by the 
happiness at home." 

True, there are men who would not be content with any 
home; but by far the larger number could be induced to 
remain with you were you attractive as you once were. 
Do you remember that your husband did not court you in 

355 



356 DE la banta's advice to ladies. 

that calico dress, tied up at the waist with a string, display- 
ing a red, faded and fringed petticoat; sleeves rolled to the 
elbows and hair unkempt? Now, engrossed with house- 
hold cares, believing him as true to you in that guise as in 
any, because he has vowed to love and cherish you, you no 
doubt thoughtlessly present yourself to him thus day after 
day, night after night. His plain garb entered not into the 
magnetic qualities that attracted you; it makes no differ- 
ence now; women do not view men so much with regard 
to their clothes and beauty as men view women. The per- 
sonal appearance is everything in woman to stimulate love 
in man, and if so in the winning, it is no less so in the 
keeping. 

If you make your homes as attractive as the bright, warm 
billiard halls, if in fact you make yourselves simply as 
pleasing as you can, your abode as pleasant as your purse 
will admit, in most cases you will have no difficulty in 
retaining the admiration, the affection and the company of 
your husbands. 

I am aware that it requires money to dress richly, but 
not always to dress with taste. It may be said that dress is 
driving thousands to ruin, that men will not marry because 
they can not afford the expense of dressing women; that it 
is the love of dress in men and the desire to please them 
that drive women to every extreme. All this may be 
deplorable, nevertheless it is natural, and the unalterable 
fact remains that man will as surely gravitate to the pres- 
ence of a beautifully dressed woman as the bee seeks the 
flower. 

I have in view more especially the society ladies, the 
women of ability. Of all, I think these dress the most 



dress. :;:>; 

plainly. There are belles to be sure, and some who 
flash out with some pretension, but the great mass 
do not attach the importance to elegant dressing they 
should. 

Fashion accords very little scope to taste in drapery. I 
think, however, each decade brings us more within the 
bounds of sense and enlightened taste. Even the least 
shapely forms are clothed with grace, and so rarely are 
fashion's devotees other than the most charming and grac- 
ious of their sex, that she seldom introduces a mode we do 
not receive with favor. General fashions should only be 
conformed to when, as Goldsmith has said, they are not 
repugnant to private beauty. 

When we consider how utterly senseless appear some of 
the fashions of the past, the powdered hair, "patches," 
head dresses of inconceivable proportions, and others 
equally absurd, it seems impossible that we shall ever 
depart again so far from the domain of utility into that of 
folly. Increase of culture, general rejection of the gew- 
gaw finery so pleasing to the untutored, and more sensible 
adaptation of clothing to its true purposes, securing com- 
fort, health and beauty, warrant a belief that fashion is 
being governed by intelligence. 

Dress has primarily two functions: to clothe and orna- 
ment. The nearer it approaches to perfection in comfort 
and taste, the nearer it approximates to gracefulness and 
becoming beauty. Uncomfortable costumes necessarily 
lack taste. The dress should ever be subordinate to the 
person ; it should form an appropriate setting, so to speak, 
for the jewel. Inordinate dressing detracts from the indi- 
viduality of the wearer. A woman amounts to but little 
'Zo 



358 DE la banta's advice to ladies. 

who is subordinate to her clothes; she is but the advertising 
dummy of her dressmaker. 

Looking at the fitness of dress, it readily appears that 
the costume of the sexes should be different. Apart from 
its being suited to her occupations, convenient and offering 
greater advantages for gratifying her love of display, there 
are physiological reasons why women should adhere to the 
flowing robes, which, to any one familiar with the female 
figure, will present' themselves. It is the tendency of skirts 
to enlarge in appearance, so that, while much shorter, most 
women appear nearly as tall as most men. Dress should 
be suited to the temperament and the age. The grave and 
gay can not with equal taste dress alike. The light, gay 
robe best suits the one, more sober garments the other; 
and so with age. Youth, like the Spring, seem appropri- 
ately attired in the hues of flowers and the freshness of the 
budding woods. The brilliant but erratic Lola Montez 
says: "In the spring of youth when all is lovely and gay, 
the light and transparent robes of brilliant colors may 
appropriately adorn the limbs of beauty; especially if the 
maid possesses the airy form of a Hebe, a light, flowing 
drapery is best suited to display her charms. This simple 
garb leaves to beauty all her empire." Grown to the first 
flush of womanhood, the form and dress of the maid 
partake of the ripening and blooming fruit, the waving 
meadows clad in the more staid but rich colors of glorious 
summer. Come the days when "the swallows homeward 
fly," of changing leaves and ripening corn, and we look to 
see the glowing youth and the blushing bride transformed 
into the buxom, quiet matron, with dress warm and sub- 
dued as Autumn tints in the scarlet wood, the purple grape, 



DRESS. 35 ( J 

the falling nut. The flowers and the leaves faded with the 
roses .and cherries of lips and cheeks; the rippling brooks 
and bounding blood of young life chilled by the frigid 
hand of winter in season and age; with snow upon the 
hills and the hair, the dark contrasting outlines of the leaf- 
less forest suggest somber robes more suitable to the 
demands of the waning year, when the fruits of the fields 
and of a life are garnered to be enjoyed in quiet repose. 

If stripes are worn by tall women, they should not be 
longitudinal, but run round the dress, as this tends to 
shorten the stature. Flounces, pleatings and ruffles have 
the same effect. The reverse should be observed by short 
persons. 

Blue is the standard color for blondes, and yellow for 
brunettes. Bright colors best suit small persons. 

It must be evident to every sensible lady that to dress 
within her pecuniary means and to harmonize with the 
social circle in which she moves, is but proper. 

Tall women should wear wide skirts and deep flounces, 
as the lines being broken by the latter, the stature is dim- 
inished. Long waists and high flounces do not become 
short figures; their trimmings should be set low on the 
skirts, and the dress made as long as possible, hang in 
graceful folds, and be of but moderate width. 

Those with long arms should be partial to sleeves, which 
may be made to give any effect desired. Compare the 
length of the arm in effect in the illustration on page 320- 
Extremes in the arms are easily remedied by due obser- 
vance of certain rules in cutting the sleeves. Those apply- 
ing to the neck or waist in the matter of trimming should 
govern, wide sleeves for a long arm and narrow ones for 



360 DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 

short arms. (Note effects on pages 240, 96, 264 and 224.) 
A small tournure or bustle is required in most cases by 
the prevailing modes. If the anterior or abdominal part 
of the body be too ])rominent, by making a corresponding 
fullness behind and shortening the waist the effect is dim- 
inished. 

Increasing the volume of the bust lessens the effect of 
abdominal fullness. If the hips are narrow the bottom of 
the dress should not be too wide. Long waists may be 
improved in appearance by the use of a stomacher or 
something to give fullness behind. Fullness of petticoats 
and the bustle lessen in effect length of waist. 

That a well proportioned figure shall be properly dis- 
played, there should not be a redundancy of ornament. 
All should be subordinate to the rarer charms of person. 

Flounces should be of light yielding material, neither 
too stiff nor too limp; not breaking the flowing lines of the 
underskirts nor creating lights and shades wrongly. 

More offense is given to taste, perhaps, in the arrange- 
ment of the shawl than with any other garment. It should 
never be worn uniform on both sides with the pattern up 
and down, but should be higher on one shoulder than on 
the other, or be in some manner irregular in order to break 
uniformity. Of all lines in wrappings, the most pic- 
turesque is a line drawn across the breast. The long scarf 
shawl is an appendage which with its broad pattern sweep- 
ins: over one shoulder and a narrow one or almost none on 
the other, gives this in the most graceful manner. Irregu- 
larity in drapery, for which the eye is ever grateful, may 
find its rarest effects in the draping of the shawl, as its folds 
and slanting lines, Avinding carelessly about the figure. 




AT HOME. (Dues* Decollete.) 

360 



DRESS. 361 

impart almost a sinuous voluptuousness that we so love to 
associate with the olive charms and sensuous graces of the 
Bast. There certainly is rare grace in the drapery of the 
shawl, that few discover. It is said that none but a French 
woman should wear this wrap, as she alone can drape it. 
There must be a delicate abandon about it. 

Bonnets and hats affect the face so much that skill and 
taste are required in their selection. A narrow face should 
have the front of the bonnet well open, exhibiting the 
lower part of the cheeks, while a broad face should have 
the front more close. Round faces should have the bonnet 
drawn forward to conceal part of the cheeks. If the jaw 
be wide the effect may be narrowed by bringing the cor- 
ners of the bonnet sloping to the point of the chin. The 
varied styles in bonnets make the application of these rules 
almost impossible, as they are worn so far from the face in 
modern fashions, yet the wearing of bonnets and hats may 
always be governed by the same general principles. For 
a long neck, the bonnet should be worn low, and the dress 
cut hio-h and ornamented. 

Whatever the quality of the material of your dress, 
wraps or bonnet, let them conform as much as taste will 
permit, to the prevailing mode. Let the stuffs be never so 
rich, if cut after discarded patterns, or if they are ill fitting, 
their worth is lost in the offense they give the eye. 

Feathers produce a good effect when they harmonize 
with the costume. Furs should not be worn when shabby; 
their defects are then quickly observed. A lady writer 
from whom I have heretofore quoted, speaking of furs, says, 
" In the adoption of furs, flat ermine or fringe fur is better 
suited to the full -formed woman than swansdown, fox, 



362 DE LA BAXTa's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

chinchilla or sable: those are graceful when worn by the 
more slender. Women of spare habit, tall and elegant, 
will derive considerable advantage from the full, flowing 
robe, mantle and Roman tunic. Fur trimmings, too, gives 
to them an appearance of roundness which nature has denied 
them; and to this character or style of person we can 
scarcely recommend an evening dress more chaste, elegant 
and advantageous, than robes of white satin, trimmed 
with swansdown, with draperies of silver or gossamer 
net." 

It is unnecessary, perhaps, to remark upon the need of 
appropriateness in dress to occasion and place. Xo sane 
lady wears Summer garments in Winter, or vice versa; yet 
in this fickle climate it is not unusual to see upon the fash- 
ionable thoroughfares the rather incongruous displav of a 
seal sacque over light Spring stuffs. So. too. the costume 
worn upon a bright day is not suitable for traveling or for 
wet weather. Suits for traveling should be made of sober 
and substantial material, and for utility rather than dis- 
play. Neatness and taste in tit and make should always 
lend their charm. Xo less suitable for damp weather are 
short skirts and water proof, or at least some protecting 
garb. The costumes of the drawing room and kitchen may 
be on familiar terms with their wearer, but should not share 
the same wardrobe or encroach upon each other's domain. 
The company and surroundings must influence dress. If you 
are summering in some quiet hamlet, your rich dresses and 
wraps should be supplanted by those more simple and less 
conspicuous. Society under varied circumstances is im- 
pressed differently concerning the importance of dress. 
The old minister was not far wrong when he advised his 



DRESS. -')<)^ 

young friend to wear his best coat in the city pulpit, but 
take his best sermon to the country parish. 

The importance of dress must not be over- looked. 
Lavater in commenting upon it, says that persons judi- 
ciously and habitually attentive in their attire exhibit 
equal regularity and observance in their domestic habits. 
"Young women," he further says, "who neglect their 
toilette and manifest little concern about dress, indicate a 
general disregard of order; a mind but ill adapted to the 
details of domestic affairs; a deficiency of taste, and of the 
qualities that inspire love: — they will be careless in every 
thing. The girl at eighteen who desires not to please, will 
be a slattern or a shrew at twenty - five. Pay attention 
young men to this sign; it never yet was known to deceive." 
One of the most important rules to observe is, to dress 
in a manner that all about your person shall so harmonize 
as to call notice to no one feature, but present an agreeable 
whole. Dr. Johnson was once praising a lady for being 
exceedingly well dressed, " I am sure she was well dressed," 
he insisted, " for I can not remember what she had on." 
To be well dressed, therefore, is to follow the prevailing 
mode, always keeping within sensible bounds, not being 
the first to inaugurate a fashion, nor the last to drop it; 
thus you will conform to good breeding, which ever shuns 
conspicuousness and eccentricities. A certain stately duch- 
ess is so aware of the importance of the details of her 
wardrobe, especially of the harmony of colors, that one of 
her femmes de chambre is a " combination maid," selected 
for her judgment in colors; thus whatever toilette the 
duchess assumes is arranged and combined by her. The 
shawl harmonizes with the dress, the bonnet suits both, the 



364: DE LA BANTA's ADVICE TO LADIES. 

flowers are in keeping with the bodice, and this with the 
sweeping train. The jewelry corresponds, and does not 
eclipse, but heightens the tints of the costume, and thus 
is presented the make - up of an artist. Every lady, how- 
ever modest her mien, should endeavor to arrange her 
costumes in the same manner. Appropriateness of dress 
to all occasions should be observed; thus the morning hour 
suggests the demi - toilette, with rich material, quiet in 
design, few, but valuable ornaments, and consistence in the 
tout ensemble. The same rules apply to walking, carriage, 
or visiting, and evening attire. The first neat, simple, 
properly combined and sensible, yet to some extent rich, 
with elegant, substantial boots, fine gloves, and hat some- 
what decorated, but quiet; the second, more elaborate, gay 
colored, rich, and admitting of a finer display of the dress- 
maker's art. The bonnet or hat, simple or rich, but not 
approaching in elegance that worn at the fete or opera. It 
must still be what the French term un chapeau de fatigue. 
A fine shawl or mantle trimmed with lace is suited to the 
carriage. The evening or dinner dress demands splendor. 
Every thing must be in the height of fashion, displaying 
all the points of art in elegant draping. At all times every 
trifle in a lady's costume must be perfect. Those advanced 
in years must dress for their years; the same with very 
young ladies. 

Nothing" is more elegant or shows the figure of a ladv to 
better advantage than a train gliding gracefullv over the 
carpet of a drawing room, and nothing is less pleasing than 
this same train sweeping the dust and mud of the streets, 
and switching against the skirts and hose of the wearer. 
A dress to be well made should first fit the waist perfectly, 



diiess. :JG5 

displaying the mold of the bust to advantage, and must 
not draw or wrinkle on the back or shoulders. The 
broader the bust the more plainly must the shoulders be 
trimmed. The more narrow it is the more full should the 
epaulette be, and the sleeve falling off the shoulder- should 
be trimmed to correspond, which tends to impart in effect 
the desired fullness. It should fit easily about the hips and 
abdomen, the legs must not be hampered by superfluous 
skirts or crinoline on the front and sides, but must show 
their movements through the skirt. The drapery should 
either fit closely or be sufficiently loose to form graceful, 
flowing folds. Never since the classical Grecian drapery, 
admitting to view everv undulation of the form, has a stvle 
of dress been so well calculated to display the female 
figure in its mystic loveliness, to just awaken the imagina- 
tion of the beholder to greater possible charms of person, 
as is the present glove - fitting style of skirts, which cling 
to the hips and limbs, displaying litheness, grace, voluptu- 
ousness and beauty in a chaste yet artistic manner. The 
crinoline or long bustle now worn, affects simply the rear 
of the skirts, and I am inclined to think forms a very 
agreeable contour, decidedly preferable to the skirts falling 
flat against the back and heels. (See page 296.) I am sorry 
this is already becoming passe. In hats, whatever the fash- 
ion, the shapes vary, and care should be observed in select- 
ing that style best suited to the size and shape of the face, 
with the hair dressed a la mode. Veils are a luxury, and 
they protect the complexion, and add to beauty. Gloves 
are as indispensable as boots. In the wearing of wraps, 
tall ladies have the advantage, as they always do in all 
matters of grace. Upon a tall lady, a shawl is always 



366 de la banta's advice to ladies. 

becoming, even queenly, while other wraps are generally- 
more suitable to the petite, or short and plump. Says one 
writer: "A mantle or cottage cloak should never be worn 
by females exceeding a moderate embonpoint." She also 
recommends that Winter garbs be of fine cloths rather than 
velvet which, except black, give an appearance of increased 
size. There is a style of costume for every variety of 
figure; thus all by observing certain rules may render them- 
selves very attractive, whatever their figure. The grave 
and gay, the ruddy and pale, the vivacious" and tranquil, 
the short and tall, every variety of form, color and character, 
has its appropriate style. There is one thing I observe 
which I am at a loss to account for. It is that those ladies 
who have the misfortune to be deformed, in some way 
nearly always dress more gaudily, and seem to strive to put 
on those very things that directly attract attention to the 
infirmity they would conceal. The more quiet the dress 
the less prominent appears the deformity. A lady of true 
refinement will give as much attention to her underclothes 
as to the exterior. I can not respect a woman who neglects 
this in any particular. I do not refer so much to costliness 
as to cleanliness and finish. Show me a lady who attends 
to this, and is always scrupulously clean in person, and I 
will look over every other shortcoming. To wear stockings 
soiled or that are allowed to wrinkle, is slatternly. Yet I 
see this every day, and ladies are pointed out to me, in silk 
and velvet, elegant in appearance, who, they say, never 
bathe their persons. It was the height of fashion, at one 
time, not only not to bathe the person, but to keep the 
face and hands ignorant of soap and water. That distin- 
guished lady, Mary Wortley Montagu, when young, was 



DRESS. 367 

remonstrated with by a friend who presumed to suggest 
that her hands needed washing. " My hands I" she ex- 
claimed, "what would you say if yon saw my feet?" 

The conventional white skirt is a most decided improve- 
ment to the costume when the dress is delicately lifted. 
Fashions in colored skirts or in crinoline have never suc- 
ceeded in supplanting it wholly. When crinoline is worn 
and becomes soiled, it should be abandoned. It is liable 
to be seen, and when old, is horrifying. The stockings are 
seen too, and I need not urge the extreme care neces- 
sary in respect to them. Ladies can not avoid exhibiting 
them at times. I observe, however, that those women with 
the least attractive limbs seem exceedingly desirous often 
to display them to everybody, and experience has taught 
me that these are very often exceedingly vain of those 
appendages, and flatter themselves in this respect. 

Garters are by no means an unimportant item of female 
dress. Most ladies wear them below the knee. Elastics 
attached to the corsets are now the thing. They are much 
preferable to garters, since any stricture upon the leg 
destroys its shapeliness to a greater or less extent. Let 
them be nice, they will prove their worth. 

Let the boot fit the foot nicely, be of good material and 
finish. Do not seek to crowd a bushel of feet into a peck 
of boots. Let the heel be not too high, and set properly. 
If there is a mark indicating a frivolous woman or girl, it 
is in her boot with a high, perhaps brass -tipped heel, set 
under the middle of the foot, and the boot strained out of 
all shape by being too small. With hat, gloves and boots 
stylish and neat, a lady is half dressed. All accessories to 
the costume, as chatelaines, belts, fans, veils, pockets, sashes, 



368 



DE LA BANTA'S ADVICE TO LADIES. 



etc., should be harmonious; cuffs neat; collar, ties, and all 
ornaments modest and tasteful. The hair of course should 
show the work of the coiffeurs artistic hand. 

Trains, when they may be worn, are a charming feature 
of dress, but they must be skillfully handled, else they lose 
their grace and elegance. House dresses may be either 
low necked or hio-h necked. A ladv with a full, round 
bosom, plump shoulders and arms, and a fine neck, may 
dress with the low neck to great advantage; without these 
she can appear equally charming in the well fitting bodice 
extending to the throat. (See pages 3G0 and 304.) 

The use of perfumes may be studied to advantage. 
They should be the pure odors of flowers. They are to 
woman as dew to flowers, and song to birds. But per- 
fumes, like colors, are varied in suiting individuals. The 
perfumes for a brunette would not suit a blonde. But this 
is subject to no rule. It is something instinctive. They 
should be choice, light, penetrating and tenacious. Col- 
ognes are for coarser persons. Jasmine, heliotrope, pink 
and rose are for large women with black hair, red lips and 
fiery natures. Lily of the valley, vervain and night bloom- 
ing cereus and orange blossom for blondes with golden 
tresses and dark blue eyes. Let perfume about the per- 
son be delicate and suggestive rather than obtrusive. An 
unpleasant insinuation sometimes forces itself upon one 
when meeting those freighted with pronounced odors, that 
a sweet exterior is designed to conceal an indifferent, per- 
haps un dainty, condition beneath. If disagreeable odors 
exist, cleanliness and other hygienic means should be 
resorted to, and the purposes of perfumes should be better 
understood than to abuse them by misapplication. 




QUEEN ELIZABETH, (Ruff) 

368 



Coloes, Jewelry, Flowers. 



No department of the toilet demands such nicety of dis- 
crimination as the selection and combination of colors. 
Without this the art of dressing descends to the merest 
matter of covering the person. There is nothing, except 
it be plain black or white, about the costume but bears a 
discordant or harmonious relation to the complexion and 
personal tints. The whole art of combining colors in dress 
is copying the natural flowers and the combinations of 
Nature's beauties, and this requires observance and study. 
Aggravating discords or pleasing harmonies may be pro- 
duced by the juxtaposition of hues. In their effect upon 
the complexion, they either enhance its beauty or detract 
from it. With colors properly selected, a comparatively 
poor skin may be made to appear attractive; worn without 
regard to effect, the best complexion will show to poor 
advantage. 

The general rule for the harmonious assortment of colors 
in apparel is to ascertain with which of the three primary 
colors (yellow, red and blue) the complexion has affinity. 
With one of these (or their many tints) every woman's 
complexion harmonizes. The shades which seem most 
favorable to beauty are weak white, light green, soft blue, 
mild violet, and pink red. 

369 



370 l>e la baxta's adtice to ladies. 

When the fiat of Dame Fashion is promulgated, that a 
certain color shall be worn as, at this writing, yellow is, the 
first effort should be to determine how far it harmonizes 
with the conrplexion, and wear that shade only which 
agrees with it. The predominant principle is that colors in 
dress should contrast or harmonize with the visage; and 
trimmings, etc., should contrast equally with the dress 
and form a pleasing harmony with it. Trimming and 
other embellishments, however, will usually bear a greater 
wealth of color display than the principal material of the 
dress. 

Xot alone must attention be given to harmony in parts 
of dress and complexion, but in all that contributes to the 
ensemble. Often a color in itself pleasing and suitable is 
destroyed in effect by inharmonious tints in wraps or other 
garments, as for instance a blue dress with a crimson 
shawl and rose - colored hat. No law could harmonize 
these. 

Good taste also demands that there be not an over - dis- 
play in number, variety and brilliancy of colors. Profusion 
may detract from the most complete harmony and offend 
good taste by obtruding the suggestion of a "too much- 
ness," and also call attention to the costume that should be 
attracted to the figure. The best effect is produced by the 
fewest and simplest colors. 

Physical characteristics have their relation also to colors. 
Thus, large objects appear to better advantage in sober 
colors: light, graceful figures appear best in light colors; 
when white is not worn, the most delicate shades of lilac, 
vellow, pink, and blue should be selected. Black, of all 
costumes, is the most piquant and elegant, suitable at all 



COLORS, JEWELRY. FLOWERS. 371 

times and harmonizing with all complexions. It never Tails 
to add dignity and grace to the wearer. 

That some practical method by which colors and their 
relations may be satisfactorily determined, and these sug- 
gestions made more available I give the rules by which to 
compare colors. Every color has its perfect harmony, 
which is termed contrast, and also other colors which har- 
monize with it in varied degrees. 

There are two kinds of harmony in grouping colors, the 
harmony by contrast and the harmony of analogy. Where 
two dissimilar colors, as blue and orange, are agreeably asso- 
ciated, they form a harmony of contrast. When distant 
tints of one color, as very light and dark blue, are asso- 
ciated, they harmonize by contrast. In the latter the har- 
mony is not so strikingly perfect. 

When two colors are grouped which are similar to each 
other in disposition, such as orange and scarlet, crimson 
and brown, etc., they form a harmony of analogy. If two 
or more tones of one color be associated closely approxi- 
mating in intensity, they harmonize by analogy. 

More effective, though not more important are the har- 
monies of contrast than those of analogy : the former are • 
more brilliant, the latter more quiet. In dress equal im- 
portance is accorded both, and in arranging colors in a 
costume the proper harmonies must be carefully adopted. 
The rules are as follows: 

When a color favorable to the complexion is selected, 
tints which harmonize by analogy should be associated, 
because contrasting colors would lessen the effect. If a 
color be selected unfavorable to the complexion, contrast- 
ing: colors must be associated to neutralize the discordant 
26 



1a BAHTA*£ a: A B TO LADLES. 

influence. Take for example an illustration of the former. 
Green is favorable to blonde complexions : by associating 
tones of itself, lighter or darker, it will enhance rather than 
lessen the effect. As an example of the latter, we mav 
take violet, which though unsuitable to brunettes, mav be 
made pleasing bv grouping tones of orange or yellow with it. 

Colors harmonizing by analogy lessen the brilliancy of 
each other in some degree, as yellow, blue, brown, black, 
white and purple, while those which contrast with each 
other mutually intensify each other's brilliancy, as blue 
and orange, scarlet and green. When very light and dark 
colors are grouped they do not intensify each other in the 
same degree; the light appears lighter, the dark deeper, as 
straw color and dark blue, or the light tints of the com- 
plexion with any dark surroundings. It is objectionable 
to associate in the costume different hues of one color, as 
yellow - green and blue - green. In selecting different tones 
of color they must belong to the same scale. 

VTIien two colors are grouped which do not accord, the 
addition of a third may combine the two favorably; and 
the same with three or more colors. 

Delicate and subdued colors are most pleasing; flaming 
reds, bright yellows, blues and other brilliant colors should 
be employed cautiously. 

When the complexion, as with most fair women, partakes 
most of the lily, light and brilliant colors, as light yellow, 
rose, and azure, should predominate in the dress. These 
heighten the beauty of the fair, whereas darker shades 
would give an appearance like alabaster, or ghastly and 
expressionless white; while dark complexions wearing these 
colors appear of a dull or muddy hue. Dark persons can 



COLORS, JEWELRY, FLOWERS. 373 

not with taste or safety to their beauty wear robes, linen 
or laces too white, or rose - colored or light blue ribbons. 
The colors most friendly to these are violet, green, purple, 
puce, and some varieties of yellow; the dark complexion 
that seemed darker by contact with harsh contrasting 
colors becomes animated and beautiful by the side of those 
named. 

To reduce the subject to a point, the pale complexion 
should be corrected by bright colors, and the dark face by 
stronger ones. Azure best suits a pale tint, while the lily 
harmonizes happily with the roses of the cheeks. When 
the face displays too lively a carnation, the livery of nature 
is best adapted to it. When neither the rose nor the lily 
predominates, rose or a delicate white, and their contrasting 
colors, pink, pale green, and lilac, harmonize best. The 
dress, therefore, should be of the harmonizing color, 
while the embellishments and trimmings should form the 
contrast. 

Any thing gaudy and glaring is offensive to a fine car- 
nation complexion. When a lady with a delicate com- 
plexion wears a dress of black or other dark color, the dull 
effect produced should be relieved by trimmings of the 
contrasting colors. Delicate and transparent complexions 
must be set off by contrast, hence blue, pale yellow, lilac, 
puce, and the different shades of gray, or black trimmed 
with pale rose or pink, are most suitable. When white 
robes are worn by such, they should wear mantles, drape- 
ries, ribbons, scarfs, etc., of blossom color, lilac, dove, celes- 
tial blue, pale pink, or primrose. 

Florid complexions must choose such colors as tend to 
diminish obtrusive carnation by contrast or comparison, 



0»4 DE LA BANTAS ADVICE TO LADIES. 

thus trimmings and ornaments should be of a brighter and 
more attractive hue than the shade of the countenance. 

For a sallow complexion the several shades of green, 
purple, red and blue are most favorable. White, black 
and gray increase the sallowness, while bright trimmings 
do not accord. For the pleasing dark tint of the brunette 
the light shades of orange or yellow form the best contrast. 

A yellow complexion is relieved by wearing yellow 
around it; the contrast causing the red or blue that may 
exist to predominate. Lilac or shades of purple would 
increase the yellow tinge. When red predominates, red 
around the face relieves it, causing; the yellow or blue sub- 
tints to stand out in relief. When too much yellow and 
red predominates, then blue or orange relieves it by con- 
trast; when too much red and blue, purple relieves it. 
When too much blue and yellow, then green aifects it by 
contrast. 

As veils and bonnet linings reflect their color on the 
face, or when transparent, transmit their color to tinge it, 
fair complexions are assisted by the contrast from light 
colors, and dark faces from darker ones. To pale faces the 
application of yellow would impart a livid hue, that of red 
a green hue, and of blue a sallow tinge. White and black 
best suit pale complexions. 

Another important observation is regarding the changing 
of colors by light. A lady dressed in exquisite taste dur- 
ing the day may find an effect entirely different at night, 
and her elegant drapery eclipsed at a ball or in the salon 
under gaslight by those far less recherche, but more suc- 
cessful in color assortment. Another, most charming at 
night, becomes ineffective by daylight. Crimson is lovely 



COLORS, JEWELRY, FLOWERS. 375 

at night, but rose color loses its charms under the gaslight. 
Let this crimson be worn by day and the most charming 
complexion is damaged. Pale yellow may appear hand- 
some by day, but at night gaslight gives it a dirty appear- 
ance and the complexion a tarnish. Only those colors that 
add brilliancy to the complexion by gaslight should be 
chosen. Purple and orange harmonize by day, but by gas- 
light are disagreeable; and white and yellow, unsuitable by 
day, are pleasing at night. All the shades of purple and 
lilac, and dark blues and green, lose much of their bril- 
liancy at night, and are therefore unsatisfactory. 

The following combinations, in brief, will aid in the 
proper selection and harmonizing of colors : 

THE HARMONIZING OF COLORS IN DRESS. 

Blue will harmonize with salmon, drab, gold or gold 
color, orange, stone, white or gray, straw, maize, chestnut, 
brown, black, scarlet and purple, orange and black, orange 
and green, crimson, gold or yellow, orange, black and 
white. 

Red may be worn with gold, or gold color, orange and 
green, white or gray, yellow and black, black and white. 

Scarlet agrees with orange, purple, blue, slate, black and 
white, blue and gray, blue and white, blue and yellow, 
blue - black and yellow. 

Crimson is suitable with drab, purple, black, maize, 
orange, gold, or gold color. 

Yellow harmonizes with chestnut or chocolate, brown, 
red, crimson, black, purple and crimson, purple, scarlet and 
blue, violet, purple, blue, the latter cold. 

Green suits yellow, gold, scarlet, orange, blue and 
scarlet, crimson, blue and gold and yellow. 



376 DE la banta's advice to ladies. 

Orange may be worn with chestnut, brown, red, green, 
lilac and crimson, red and green, blue and crimson, purple 
and scarlet, blue, scarlet and purple, scarlet, green and 
white. 

Purple harmonizes with maize, blue, gold, orange, scarlet 
and white, scarlet and gold color, scarlet, blue and orange, 
blue, yellow and black. 

Lilac may be worn with maize, cherry, scarlet, crimson, 
gold, scarlet and white or black, gold color and crimson, 
yellow, scarlet and white. 

White suits scarlet, crimson, cherry, pink, brown. 

Black suits white, orange, maize, scarlet, pink, lilac, slate, 
drab or buff, white, yellow and crimson, orange, blue and 
scarlet. 

SUITABILITY OF VARIOUS COLORS. 

Blue is most suitable for summer, being by nature cold 
and retiring. 

Red and its modified hues are most suitable as a winter 
costume, being warm. 

Yellow approaches nearest to light. As a rule, yellow 
should be used sparingly in dress, as it is too brilliant even 
in connection with other colors. It is most suitable for 
spring and summer wear. 

Purple is best worn in winter, spring and autumn. 

Orange is a prominent warm color, and both in nature 
and art appears to best advantage in small quantities, and 
associated with its contrasting colors, purple and blue. 
Most suitable for dress in winter and spring. 

Green is best suited for late summer or autumn wear, 
being fresh at a season when nature is arrayed in bright, 
burning; colors. 



hi: 






^Si 









p 
m 






Is itf?. ■ 



w 4 






^Wl 







CONTINENTAL LOVERS. 

376 



COLORS, JEWELRY, FLOWERS. 'M 7 

For many of the foregoing- suggestions regarding colors 
I am indebted to a valuable authority. 

In the wearing of jewelry, round faced ladies should wear 
long ear pendants, those with long faces short and heavier 
ones. Gold, coral, topaz, amethysts, sapphires, rubies, 
emeralds and diamonds comprise suitable jewelry for bru- 
nettes. For blondes, cameos, turquoises, pearls and dia- 
monds are most satisfactory. Of course diamonds are 
always and with all en regie. Jewelry, however, should 
not adorn the neck, bosom or hands to any marked degree 
if they lack symmetry or are defective in shape or color. 
Instead of being attractive, they turn the beholder's atten- 
tion to the defects. 

Heawy ornaments should not be worn by maidens in the 
heyday of their beauty, lest they detract from the charm 
and litheness of their youth. Remember, at any age there 
is less danger in wearing too few ornaments than in wearing 
too many. Too much jewelry always indicates vulgarity. 

Flowers are ever resplendent ornaments, and seem the 
most natural concomitants to woman's charms, if indeed 
they do not by the fact, of their harmonizing sweetness, 
intoxicating influence and subtle assimilation belong to 
their domain. Jewelry pales beneath the simple wreath of 
roses, the lily of the valley, the jasmine, the snow drop, 
violet, primrose, and the beautiful array of Nature's sweets 
when adorning feminine beauty. A rose in the hair, 
or at the swelling bosom, or other simple flower displayed 
in tasteful ambush in her drapery by woman's deft fingers, 
would stir the divine passion in the heart of Jove. Love 
and flowers and woman's charms and graces form a com- 
bination with no counterpart save in Heaven. 






^ 











• . JBXfa 


.'/"."."Ti-f:.-^:' ? ! - 


SSS1 










^ :.:■■:•; 






no 




'-. v, :•■•/■■•.'.•;•'' ?;''.•■'■ ;■■'■■■■■■■•.■.'■■■■?; J, 



'♦wht. 



IffiW 




